


Serendipity

by WeBuiltThePyramids



Series: Serendipity-Verse [1]
Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Adoption, Chapters with said content will be tagged, F/M, Flashbacks, Happy/Paige friendship, Many mentions of megan, Melvester, Sexual content (both Waige and Quintis) in later chapters, Surrogacy, paige/sly friendship, walter/sly friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 84
Words: 127,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5801266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeBuiltThePyramids/pseuds/WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set several years after the events of season two. After discovering that Megan froze her eggs, Paige offers to surrogate for Sylvester. Meanwhile, Happy and Toby try to adopt, Ralph navigates the changing relationship dynamics that come with growing up, and Linda leans on the team when her life falls apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'd gotten a couple of requests back months ago when we were seeing Megan's last episodes about this topic, but I didn't have the time to tackle it then. And today I got another person asking, plus there have been some posts made about it on Tumblr, and I decided to actually start working on it now. This fic will have Waige, Quintis, a lot of Paige/Sly and Walter/Sly friendship, and, of course, a ton of mentions of Melvester.

By the time Paige got out of the shower, Walter was already in bed, his iPad propped up on his knees. "Whatcha reading?" she asked him, tightening her robe around her. The window was cracked open, and it was a little chilly to someone who had just been in a steam filled bathroom.

"A thesis on dark matter," he said, swiping with his finger. "I think the basic science is valid...it's a bit sparsely sourced, though." He looked over at her. "If you're ready to sleep, I can finish it in the morning."

"Uh..." she hesitated. "I don't think I could fall asleep just yet, but..." she flipped the covers back and scooted underneath them, sitting up against the headboard. "But I would like if you finished that in the morning because I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh. Okay." He shut off the iPad and set it on the nightstand.

"So when you were out helping Ralph practice driving..."

* * *

 _"_ Toby _." The mechanic giggled through her protests, clearly only objecting to his lips on her neck for show. "I swear to God, Paige and Sly are right there."_

_Yep, Paige thought, smirking over at Sylvester. Just for show._

_Toby caught her eye and grinned triumphantly a split second before Happy twisted around and mashed her lips against his. "There, satisfied?" she asked, her arms curled around his neck._

_"Temporarily." Toby said. Happy lifted the hat off his head and set it on her own, turning back to her work._

_"They're so adorable," Paige said, studying the puzzle in front of them. "Are you sure you're not just pretending this is hard for my sake?"_

_"3D puzzles are considerably harder than traditional puzzles," Sylvester said. "And this isn't the colorful Super Fun Guy," Sylvester said. "That would make it a lot easier on both of us. But this is a grayscale model, so that complicates things." He picked up another piece and secured it, biting his lip._

_"Something the matter?" Paige asked, cocking her head._

_"No," Sylvester said. "Not at all. Why?"_

_"Because I know you, Sly. And that was a lie."_

_He stared at her for a long time, then relented. "Okay." He set a puzzle piece down. "I am..._ thrilled _for Happy and Toby getting approved by the adoption agency. I really am. It just...it just gets me thinking, is all."_

_Paige risked the question. "About Megan?"_

_Sylvester nodded. "Her giving birth was never an option. Never. We were only together nine months, it was too early to start talking about that even if she were healthy. But...I do know that had she not been sick..." he shrugged. "I'm sure I'd be a dad by now. And I know I freak out about a lot of things, but whenever I think about that...I don't get scared. It makes me want to do it."_

_Paige pressed her lips together sadly. "I'm sure you guys would have been great parents, Sly." She thought she saw a piece to add to the puzzle, and she picked it off the table and leaned forward. Nope. She set it back down, then looked curiously back at Sylvester. "What do you mean it makes you want to do it?"_ Megan is dead. Megan's been dead for four years.

 _"Megan froze some of her eggs," Sylvester said, exhaling heavily as he spoke, as if revealing the secret was a huge relief to him. "And she told me a month or so before she died that she was making sure that I would be able to use them, if I ever wanted." He picked up a puzzle piece and turned it over in his hands. "She said it didn't matter to her if I used them or not, but she wanted to be sure that I knew it was an option. And I'm_ not _a kid anymore, Paige. When you were my age, Ralph was in Kindergarten. I know I can do this, and I_ want _to do this, I just...the process, there's a lot of steps involved, and..." He trailed off. "I've just been thinking more and more about it lately."_

* * *

Walter was silent. Paige wanted to know what he was thinking, but she could tell by the look of concentration on his face that he was still processing what she'd told him. He leaned against the headboard, his fingers laced together, his thumbs drumming against each other as he stared straight ahead. Then he sighed, licked his lips, and looked at her.

He didn't speak, but she knew he was ready for her to continue speaking to him. "It's costing Sylvester seven hundred dollars a year to keep the eggs in storage," she said. "It would cost at least ten thousand dollars to attempt to thaw and fertilize them, and implant them in a surrogate. He can do it, but..." her lower lip curled under. "Walter, how would you feel if I told Sylvester _I'd_ be the surrogate?"

Silence. Then "I...I mean..." he frowned. "I wouldn't have interpreted this decision as mine to make."

"Walter." She rolled on her side, sliding a hand over to him, up over where his hands rested on his lap. She curled her fingers around his. "This isn't a decision I can make by myself. This affects you. I wouldn't be able to participate in the same capacity at work for a time, and..." she spoke softly, her tone gentle as she voiced her real concern, "I would be carrying your sister's baby. Your sister who isn't here anymore. I care about Sylvester, but I haven't indicated to him yet that I may be able to do this, I'd have to get tests done anyway to make sure I'm able to do it but I _will not_ take one step down this path if it's going to be too much for you."

"No," Walter said suddenly, shaking his head. "It won't be."

"You can take some time to think about it, you know," Paige said, smiling affectionately at him. "This isn't work; you don't have to evaluate in a matter of seconds. She let the fingers on her free hand trail lightly through his hair. "Why don't you sleep on it and we'll talk in the morning? Then we can include Ralph too. Does that sound okay?"

When he nodded, she smiled, reaching up behind them to switch off the light. They both shifted their weight scooting, fully under the covers. "Night, Love," she whispered, curling her arms under the pillow and realizing that she hadn't removed the towel from her hair.

She considered getting up, then decided she was just too comfortable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad everyone seemed to enjoy the first chapter - and I really appreciate any and all reviews/comments! Just want to put a little disclaimer on this and future chapters - this takes place four years after season two, so if the characters seem a little more 'developed' socially than they are in the show, remember they have four years to get to where I have them here. Also, because of the time jump from current events, try to picture a fifteen year old Ralph if you can. ;)

"Ralph!" Paige called, handing Walter three bowls from the cupboard. "If you want to eat, get out here!"

"It's 6:18," Walter said, setting the bowls at the places at the table. "He usually comes to the table at 6:30, and he gets to school on time. You calling him out here twelve – eleven," he corrected, noting the time on the microwave, "minutes early, he will know that something is up."

"Something _is_ up," Paige pointed out.

"Is that someone me? Ten minutes early?"

Paige noticed Ralph's tone plus the cocked eyebrow and made a mental note to stop letting him spend so much time with Toby.

"Hey Ralph," Walter said.

"Morning, sweetie," Paige said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay." Ralph sat down and poured cereal. "You guys?"

"I woke up with a towel on my face," Walter said.

Paige handed him a spoon. "Shut up and eat."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds the clinking of spoons and the dull thuds of glasses coming down against the table. Then Paige spoke. "So Ralph. Sylvester told me something yesterday."

"Is it that he actually doesn't think the Super Fun Guy puzzle is all that hard but he likes the time you guys spend together so..." Ralph trailed off at the expressions on both Paige and Walter's faces. "Oops."

"He told me that he and Megan had discussed...well, they'd discussed the fact that they had an option of being parents one day. Megan had some of her eggs frozen."

"And Sylvester wants to use them?"

"Yes." Paige said, noticing that her son immediately glanced at Walter. "He's thinking about it. There would be a lot of steps involved, it's pretty complicated actually."

"It's not really that complicated of a process," Ralph said. "Beyond the fairly low chances of success, of course. They would take Megan's eggs out of the freezer and thaw them down to a viable temperature. Then they'd be fertilized with Sylvester's swimmers and implanted in you. The baby would be biologically Megan and Sly's, but you would be the carrier. Then once the baby is born, Sylvester would raise him or her as a single parent."

"Yes, exactly," Paige said, nodding. Then she furrowed her brow, realizing they hadn't yet mentioned to Ralph exactly _why_ they were bringing this up. "Me?"

Ralph shrugged. "We don't normally discuss surrogacy over breakfast cereal; I assumed you were planning on telling me you were going to be the surrogate. Plus..." he glanced at the microwave, "you did call me out here eleven minutes early."

Paige rolled her eyes at Walter's triumphant reaction to Ralph's comment. "You're right, Ralph," she said. "I'm thinking about offering to do that for Sly. What do you think?"

Ralph looked at Walter again, then back at his mother. "I think you should do it."

Paige smiled. "Yeah?"

Ralph nodded. "It's what Sly wants. And if Megan left this option for him..." he shrugged. "She must have wanted it too. Although..." he trailed off, frowning, "Mom...do _you_ want to?"

"Come again?"

"Well...you've been sacrificing for other people all your life. For me, for my father..." he shrugged again. "Owen told me his mom went through a lot, to have him. I know pregnancy isn't easy. You always want to make everyone else happy but you have to calculate if it's worth everything _you'll_ go through."

* * *

 

"You barely said a word during that entire conversation," Paige said after Ralph had left for school.

"You were doing an adequate job of getting across what you wanted to get across," he said, drying the dishes and putting them back in the cupboard. "Did you want me to say something?"

"What do you think of him implying that I shouldn't sacrifice for Sly?" Paige asked. "Do you think he doesn't want me to do it?"

Walter sighed. "I think he knows how lucky he is to have someone like you. Someone who has been putting him first without hesitation since before he was born." He turned to her. "And I can't say I know how you do it, but..." he put his hands on her hips, "it's one of my favorite things about you. You're just so _good_ , Love. You care so much. And you do it without reservation. Anyone who comes into contact with you is better for having been in your life. Ralph is lucky to have you as his mother. I'm lucky to be loved by you. And Sly...Sly's lucky to have you as a friend."

She was smiling. "Are you saying _you_ think I should do it?"

"I'm saying I think you really _do_ want to do it," Walter said. "And uh, by extension, yes, I think you should."

She smiled at him. "I really appreciate your support."

He hugged her then, and she slid her arms around him, letting him sway her slowly from side to side. "You gonna tell Sly today?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"I think he'll be happy."

She smiled. "I hope so."


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, I liked it a lot better when you lived in the garage, Walter," Toby said in greeting as Walter and Paige entered the building. "You were always here when we got here, we had more little projects going on..."

"I do live in the garage," Walter said. "I just also live at Paige's apartment."

"You're spending less and less time here," Toby said.

"It's good to separate yourself from work sometimes," Paige said. "Most of our cases start here. This is the Scorpion headquarters. We can be more focused if we spend some of our free time in a place that isn't associated with work. Same reason why school students who study in their rooms often find it hard to sleep."

"How about you cut the logic and leave me in peace to grumble about change I don't like," Toby said jokingly. "But on the subject of change...and this is actually _good_ change..." he pulled a paper out of his pocket and moved over to Happy, putting an arm around her. They grinned at each other before he continued speaking, "Happy and I have an appointment at two this afternoon to talk to a lady about potentially adopting a second grader from Orange County."

"Congratulations!" Paige put her hand to her mouth excitedly.

"Don't be premature," Happy said. "It's just a conversation. The odds of us finding a good match on our first official day...Sly?"

"There are a ton of variables involved," Sylvester said. "But it's about as likely as your first romantic partner being your soulmate – but then, I've always been an overachiever."

"I'm sure you guys are excited, though!" Paige said.

"If we're being totally honest, I am terrified," Happy said. "But in the good way. You know."

"If you really want something," Sylvester said, "sometimes that's what you have to do. Go for it. Even if it scares you."

"Hey...somewhat along those lines," Paige said, shifting her weight. "Sly, can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah."

"Upstairs?"

Sylvester looked slightly anxious. "O-okay."

* * *

When they reached the top of the stairs, Sylvester immediately turned around. "Paige, I know what I said yesterday was new to you, I never did tell anyone about it, but I really have been thinking about it for a while. You know money makes me nervous and I only save when I really have to, and I have an entirely separate bank account that I've been using for storage fees, and I barely have enough to pay a surrogate mother now, so I'll have to continue to save to be able to provide well for the child, but with Happy and Toby being potentially very close to adopting, I just really feel like..." he trailed off, studying her face. "You didn't call me up here to lecture me, did you?"

She shook her head. "I came up here to offer you something."

Sly looked confused, but he nodded, exhaling in relief. "Oh. What's that?"

"Well," she said, "I know how important this is to you. It doesn't make a difference I just heard about it yesterday; I can tell how much you want it and how much effort you'll put in and I know you'll be a good dad and...the day Ralph was born was the single greatest day of my life. Everything I've gone through since has been worth it because of him. I had an easy pregnancy, no complications. I'm healthy and...I what I wanted to tell you is...if you want to have a baby with Megan...I'll carry."

Sylvester's facial reaction wasn't dramatic, but she could see the emotion contorting on his face. When he spoke, his voice was quiet but strong, an emotional whisper. "You would do that for me?"

She nodded. "It would save you a lot of money for once the baby is born..."

"I'd pay all your medical expenses," he said quickly.

She put a hand on his arm. "Sly, I know you will. I know if I was doing surrogacy I would like to have the person carrying my baby be someone I know, and this way you can experience the pregnancy too. You can feel them kick, you can go to the ultrasounds, you can be one hundred percent in this." He was silent, and upon making a realization, Paige continued. "Unless you don't want to. If it's too painful to watch someone else carry Megan's baby, you don't have to do any of that. You don't even have to use me. I just wanted to off..."

She trailed off when Sly wrapped his arms around her, and for a moment she was startled, non-responsive, much like when Ray had hugged Walter goodbye. Then she came to, returning the hug. "Thank you," Sylvester whispered. "Thank you so much." She could hear the tears in his voice – and she could feel how grateful he was; he was hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe.

He released her, and held her at arm's length. "This suddenly feels so real. I mean...I know you have to get the tests done and all that, but..." he was grinning so broadly he could hardly talk. "When?"

"Well, it's the beginning of February," Paige said. "It will take a couple of weeks at least for all the medical exams. The timing is actually perfect, because I won't be in the third trimester during the summer. There are a lot of things I'll do for you, Sly, but I don't want to be nine months pregnant in Los Angeles in July." She laughed.

"I don't blame you." He chuckled, then his expression shifted to slightly uncomfortable. "You don't need me to...um...be at the..."

Paige smirked. "No, Sly, you don't have to come with me for the vaginal ultrasound and Pap smear. I think I can handle that by myself."

"By yourself." Sly looked concerned. "Oh my God. Walter."

"He's fine. He knows how much this means to you. And how much it would mean to Megan."

"But you two..." Sylvester gestured, even though Walter wasn't there. "He's going to be watching you carry someone else's baby. I'm sure if he ever thought of you being pregnant, it would be his. And yours, for that matter."

"Sly," Paige said. "You know that Walter is already a dad."

"I know, but..." a corner of Sylvester's mouth turned upward. "People don't give the guy enough credit, do they?"

"I don't think they do," she agreed. "We talked last night, and this morning, and yeah it might be a little weird at first, but he's supportive."

"I don't know if it matters," came Toby's voice, causing Paige and Sly to jump and look toward the sound, "but the missus and I are supportive as well. This is very exciting."

"Has that intercom ever _once_ been used on purpose?" Sylvester asked Paige.

"I can't say installing it's my _biggest_ regret in life," she replied, "but it can definitely make a good argument."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the readers predicting that this won't be quite as easy from a character standpoint as they all seem to think, you're right. But this isn't going to be an angst or tension filled fic in those terms. (Also for the people asking if I'm doing research for surrogacy, yes, I don't write fics about subjects I haven't looked into, and I know something about the process already because I'm going to be the surrogate for a friend of mine if he and his partner ever want to have a baby. So I may get little things wrong as I'm not personally familiar with the process yet, but I am somewhat enlightened.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking a brief break from the actual surrogacy plotline here just to show both couples in their updated, domesticated setting. The surrogacy stuff will be heavily featured again in the next chapter.

“I still don’t understand why you like Deal or No Deal,” Happy said.  “I feel like Jeopardy would be more your speed, with the gambling aspect of it.  Not that I’m asking you to fall back on that aspect of your life.”

“Sometimes you need mindless TV at the end of your day,” Toby said, tossing a cheeto in the air and catching it in his mouth.

“It’s not entirely mindless.  There are statistics and strategy involved.”

“Yeah but everyone makes dumb decisions.  Yeah, the case could have five hundred thousand dollars, but it could also have a penny, five dollars, or one thousand dollars.  It makes so much more sense to take the deal, but they always go one more, one more.  Even when the safety net is gone.  Like Walter says, you take risks in life but they have to be calculated.”

“At least you picked a show with hot models,” Happy said, settling down on the bed next to him, crossing her ankles.

“Right?”

Happy grinned, bumping his fist with her own.  She looked at him for a moment, then scooted closer, snuggling against him and pushing her nose against his neck.  He slid a hand over to rest on her leg.

Happy rested there through a commercial break and one more segment, and then shifted, removing her nose from his neck and replacing it with her lips.  She moved her mouth upward, catching his earlobe between her teeth.

“Someone is affectionate tonight,” Toby said with a grin.  Happy was almost always up for affection when they were alone, but he still initiated more often than she did.  For all the emotional growth she’d had since he’d met her, it was still harder for her to express how she was feeling than it was for him.  When she did initiate, it was usually her suggesting he initiate, or occasionally she would bump her hip against his and say something along the lines of “hey doc, wanna do stuff?” because she knew the bluntness made him laugh.  Her sideling up to him and kissing his neck was a less frequent happenstance, and as he shifted to his side to slide his arms around her he asked, “is this because of the adoption approval?”

“Maybe,” she said, touching her nose to his, “I mean, I know that the kid we saw today wasn’t going to be a good fit for us, but...the agency just sounds so positive, and we’re looking for someone we can give everything we wished we had growing up, and...” she shrugged.  “I just wouldn’t want to do this with anyone but you.”

“I don’t think I could do this with anyone but you,” he said.  “No one really gets me like you do.  And you know what?”

“We’re going to find a kid that no one gets like _we_ do.”

His fingers worked at the buttons on her shirt.  “Exactly.  Now as attractive as you look in plaid, I think it’s time to take this off.”

* * *

 

Walter lifted his head at the loud “ooooooh!” from the television.  He frowned, glancing at the clock on the bedside table.  The light was still on in Paige’s bedroom, but he could see it was dark outside.  “Huh.”

“Huh?”

Paige’s head was against his chest.  One of his arms was under her neck, the other resting on her hip, one of her arms slung over it.  She tried to turn it to see him, an impossibility in their current position.

“We fell asleep.” Walter yawned.  “Do you know if that guy crashed and burned?”

“That Tom guy?”

She sounded very sleepy.  Walter doubted she’d stayed awake much longer than he had.  “Yeah,” he said.  “My guess is he went out the next round.  I mean, the host kept going on about how he has a twenty five percent chance of having the half a million, but there’s a seventy five percent chance he’d walk out of there with less than one thousand dollars.  He should have taken the deal.” He felt her laugh, and a smile came over his face.  “What?”

“Just...you,” she said, her hand patting his side.  She lifted her head an inch.  “Why are you watching Baggage?”

“I fell asleep.”

“Mmmm.” Her head dropped back to its previous position, and she almost immediately lifted it again.  “Does that guy’s bag say ‘I’m a self-proclaimed douchebag?’”

“Uh-huh.”

“Ugh,” Paige grumbled.  “Where’s the remote?”

“It’s on my nightstand.”

“Turn this off and let’s go to bed.”

“Paige,” Walter said, “we have to untangle for me to reach it.”

She gave a displeased grunt and didn’t move.  Walter smiled and cuddled her closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still not very confident in writing Quintis. The primarily Quintis writers do such a fabulous job I feel about as good writing them as Walter feels in his abilities of processing human behavior. Hopefully I’m not doing too bad.  
> Also a brief note – I am terrible at remembering to post links to my updates to Tumblr, so you might want to follow or bookmark to make sure you see when I update.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay in updating. On that subject I do want to mention that I am leaving for another state tomorrow and won't be back for a week. So there won't be another chapter for that duration (unless I'm up before everyone else because of the time difference haha), but I'll get back to all my fics (as well as the requests on Tumblr, I promise I will get to them!) when I return!

The woman who began Paige's medical examinations was a tall black lady named Denise who immediately put any nerves she was having at ease. She had years of experience in customer service when she was a waitress. She knew how to fake a smile, act like she was interested in who she was speaking to, give off the fake, always cheerful vibe. She got none of that from Denise. She either was the best faker Paige had ever seen, or she genuinely enjoyed her job.

"Have you ever carried a child, Miss Dineen?"

"Yes, once," she said, hesitating before asking, "Isn't that a requirement?"

"Most places require it of women deciding to surrogate for a family that they will be matched with," Denise said. "But your case is different as you're doing this for a friend. However, it does very much help that you have given birth before, because we know you can carry a pregnancy to term. How long ago was your previous pregnancy?"

"My son was born in November of 2004," Paige said. "I know that was a long time ago."

"It was," Denise acknowledged, "but you were...twenty, it seems?"

"Almost twenty one."

"Surrogacy is more of a healthy risk once you've turned forty," Denise said. "You're still got several years in that window." She typed a couple of things into the computer. "Okay, so today we're going to give you a physical, and test you for sexually transmitted infections and viruses, and we'll need to get your blood type. Are you currently sexually active?"

"Yes."

"Monogamous?"

"Yes. About three years now. Neither of us have anything."

"We will need to get him or her tested to be sure."

Paige sighed. She hadn't told Walter she was coming here today.

"You and he will both undergo psychological evaluations, and we'll also need to give you a drug test to make sure there's nothing in your system that can affect the baby or the pregnancy itself. We can get most of that, apart from the psychological exam, done today. Now your first pregnancy, you say it had no complications?"

"The thirty hour labor complicated the father's attendance at a baseball game," Paige said, "but other than that, no. To pitch, not to watch," she said when Denise raised her eyebrows.

"We will also have to determine your cycle and use hormone replacement to help your uterus prepare for a pregnancy. We'll also use the blood sample we took today to make sure that you aren't currently pregnant."

Paige was about to open her mouth and say that she wasn't, but that was exactly what she'd said sixteen years ago, even when the test results saying otherwise were a foot from her face.

Denise looked curiously at her. "Do you think you _could_ be pregnant?"

"No." Paige spoke quickly.

"Well, the blood test will verify that for us. Now if you're ready, just lie back and I'll get the doctor in here to begin the examination."

* * *

 

"So long story short," Paige said, "it's so far, so good. Obviously the bloodwork results need to come back, Walter needs to get tested, they gotta confirm that I'm not currently pregnant, and then he and I have to each get some psychological profile done." She shrugged. "I don't think it should be this complicated when this is happening between friends. But I guess anyone getting pregnant on purpose would like to know for sure they're healthy enough to handle the pregnancy well."

"I still can't believe this is happening." Sylvester grinned. "I have a box of Megan's stuff to put in the baby's room."

Toby cocked his head. "You live in a one bedroom apartment."

"Yes, but I'm looking for a two bedroom, and I have some extra money now that I'm not going to be paying twenty five grand for a surrogate."

"Some extra money?" Toby raised his eyebrows. "What I wouldn't give for twenty five thousand dollars that I wasn't expecting to have. I am _not_ gambling again," he clarified when Paige and Sylvester's eyebrows shot up in unison. "Happy and I...renovating the house cost more than we expected, despite how handy she is, it just turned into a bigger project and it's not like we can't afford this adoption process, it's just that every penny either of us spend nowadays..."

"Are you stressed out because it's Happy's day off?" Paige asked.

"We don't have any jobs right now," Sylvester added. "The government pays us bottom of the barrel on days off."

"And she's spending time with her dad," Paige said, "going through some of her mom's stuff, she's using her time off to get ready for you guys to be parents."

"You don't need to play the efficiency card with me, Dineen," Toby reminded her. "I know I'm overreacting, I know we have enough money, it's just...we've always been independent people. We've always only had to take care of ourselves, and then each other, yes, but it was still another independent person. Now we're going to be taking complete control of someone else, someone we'll want to give everything to. And it's stressful, and I just..." he shook his head. "I'm going to go upstairs and play with the ferret."

"Walter took it to the park," Paige said.

"God dammit." Toby threw his hat on the table and stormed off to the other side of the garage.

"What are you doing?" Sylvester asked Paige quietly when she pulled her phone out.

* * *

 

"Hello?"

"Happy, it's Paige." Her voice grew quieter. "Was Toby acting okay when he left this morning? He's pretty stressed today."

"We didn't see each other this morning. I left before he got up, my dad has some stuff to do later today and I wanted to get this done before that. What's the matter?"

"Uh...he's not acting himself, we..."

Happy could hear the hesitation. Suspecting Paige didn't want to reveal anything that was Toby's business alone, Happy changed her tactic. "Does he need to vent about something, or is he just wound? Okay," she said when she heard Paige repeating the question to someone preceded by a _do you think_ , "when he gets home, am I taking off my headphones or my pants?"

* * *

 

"I'm going with pants," she mumbled to herself when her husband walked in the door and threw his hat like a Frisbee, not even throwing his arms up when it landed solidly on the hook. "Doc, what's up?"

"Just a long day at work. Paige called you, didn't she?"

"You know if I'm worried about Walter I tell her."

"I'm fine, Hap. I'm just...it's like someone opened the floodgates on my guilt and self loathing and won't let them close."

"Okay, headphones."

"What?"

"Nothing." She patted the seat next to her. "Talk to me."

He hesitantly lowered himself onto the couch. "Okay, so you know we've been talking finances a lot over the past months, with this whole adoption process and..."

 _And we're fine._ She knew to let him finish.

"And...and I know my gambling is under control. I only went to the track once last year and I've done nothing else." He paused.

She could tell by the look on his face that whatever he was trying to say was _really_ hard for him to get out. When the pause was long enough, she put her hand on his knee. "Are you afraid that you'll relapse?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm just...I'm not an idiot, Happy. I know fairly exactly how much money I lost in those years when it was bad. And even after that. And I just keep thinking that if I wasn't so messed up...if I had the self-discipline, the ability to save every penny I could, like people like Paige do..." he trailed off, not looking at her. When he spoke again, his voice sounded like it was carrying the weight of the world. " _We would have so much money for our kid._ We could splurge. Buy anything we wanted. Spoil that kid like Walter spoils Ralph."

Happy was going to open her mouth and point out that Ralph was different – they could make most of the things that interested him, Walter engaged him by letting him help with experiments, or giving him the responsibility of less dangerous aspects of their jobs. But then she realized that's exactly what Toby meant.

They weren't adopting a genius. Whoever their child would be, he or she might want designer clothes. Or football equipment. Maybe they loved horses and Happy and Toby would need to shell out fifty bucks a week for lessons. Or they might want to travel. Planes were free when going on jobs, but not for spring break trips to Switzerland or a summer in Beijing. Maybe they wouldn't be interested in coding, but just cared about getting Sims 6 the day it came out. They might want to go to an out of state college, but not be able to get many scholarships. Happy's father, Sylvester's parents, both Walter's parents, and even Paige had struggled on varying levels with connecting, and properly raising, genius children. She and Toby were going to face the same struggle with a 'normal' son or daughter.

"Toby," Happy said, scooting closer, resting a hand gently in his hair, "we're not struggling. Maybe we could have a lot more money. But we're fine. We wouldn't be adopting if we couldn't afford it, and maybe we can't afford to send them on a shopping spree down Fifth Avenue on a weekly basis but we'll provide. We have this house. We have jobs. We have our friends and each other and we're good. The past might be bad. But don't let the past ruin what's happening now. Because what's happening now is good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit I'm finding it quite difficult to write this fic (though I am enjoying it) in trying to see where the characters are now and predict where they might be with each other friendship/relationship/character growth wise years ahead. And while I ship Quintis a lot, I don't write them much and and I've seen such brilliant Quintis fics that I am constantly doubting my ability to make my Quintis scenes any sort of quality at all. But I hope I'm not doing too bad.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're too good to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is strictly Waige. I'll definitely be getting back to the other characters in the next chapter and going forward from there, but it's Valentine's Day tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are and when you read this) and I wanted to give all my fellow Waige shippers a little present.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Walter asked, reaching for her hand as they walked toward the stairs.

"I did." Paige smiled at him. "You didn't have to go to all that trouble."

"Eh," Walter said. "The guy who owns the place owed me a favor. And when I dropped Ralph off at driver's ed, he expressed concern about you."

"About what?"

"Much of the same. About how you do things for all of us and you don't indulge yourself. So we figured, he'll spend the night at Owen's – they have that project anyway – I'll take you out to a nice restaurant, then we'll have some time at home to ourselves."

"Aw," Paige stopped just outside the door to turn and kiss him. "I have the best guys in my life."

They entered the apartment, and she set her purse down on the table. "So Walter, I'd been meaning to tell you this..."

"Yeah?"

He was halfway down the hall, and she followed him. "Yeah." She brushed some hair behind her ear. "I went to the doctor the other day, to get the tests done, you know, so they can start me on hormones and...and everything for the surrogacy. And I was in again today for some more formality type things..."

"I know," Walter said. "Sylvester and I were talking about it earlier."

She sat down on the edge of the bed, confused. "When?"

"When you and Toby were in Malibu giving that presentation to Percy. That's part of why I wanted to give you a nice night. I know you were worried that I might...might not be okay with this, but I am." He stood in front of her, his hands on her upper arms. "I really am. And I'm proud of you."

"Hmmm."

He sank down next to her, and she was still grinning when their lips touched. "So everything is well?"

"They're waiting on some results, and they...they actually need to see you, too. Do a psychological exam and make sure you don't have anything that might get transmitted to the baby."

He did hesitate before responding, but not for as long as she'd feared. Then he nodded. "All right. I'll call them tomorrow."

She smiled. "Thank you."

They scooted up toward the head of the bed, her fingers splayed across his chest as they lay on their sides. "Thank you again for dinner," she murmured. "You're too good to me."

Walter smiled and leaned over her, kissing her tenderly, and his hand slid around her back, tugging her closer before searching for her zipper. She reached behind her, locating it and tugging it down before putting her hands up to his face.

He tugged the straps down her arms and she wiggled out of the top half of the dress, rolling onto her back and lifting her hips to help him slide her the rest of the way out of it. He hovered over her, placing his lips on her neck and brushing his thumb over her bra.

"Walter." She gently pushed at him, realizing how pleased he probably was that just prior to her protest, she'd moaned _right_ into his ear. "Walter, we can't."

She hated that she had to do this and she wished she'd thought of it before, before they were here, before he'd gotten her heart pounding and her whole body feeling flushed. But she did have to. "They took a blood test today and one of the points of the test is to make sure I'm not pregnant. So...we can't do anything. Until after I actually am pregnant."

He was smiling affectionately down at her. "I know." In response to her puzzled expression, he leaned down, their noses almost touching. He kissed her, resting on one of his forearms and letting the other one dance down her stomach until it met the thin fabric around her hips. His voice dropped to a stage whisper as his lips hovered near her ear.

" _My mouth can't get you pregnant, Love_."

He immediately began to move, trailing kisses from her neck, to her clavicle, to between her breasts, to her stomach. His hand tugged her underwear down, and she shifted her position to give him room, throwing her head back across the pillow and smiling even as his name escaped her lips.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think I promised more Quintis/team in this chapter, but it turned into a Sylvester chapter for a couple reasons – first, because I wrote most of this chapter before Adaptation aired and I didn't want to write more Quintis until I got to see a bit of how they are in a relationship, and second, because a good chunk of this fic will be flashing back to the five years that have gone by from show canon to this fic and showing Sylvester continuing to grow and being influenced by Megan to become, as Paige put it in Adaptation, a better version of himself, I felt I should start on that now.

"Hey Paige."

"I have some good news," she said, and he could sense the excitement in her voice despite her clear efforts to hide it.

"Well, I am sitting down for it, then," he said. He'd be sitting down anyway; he and Ralph had just parked at the beach.

" _He can't practice driving with you," Paige said. "It can only be with a parent, or a legal guardian."_

" _He practices with Walter. Walter isn't either of those things."_

" _You know, Pay," Walter said to her, "there's only an issue if they get caught. And you know Ralph's an excellent driver. He drives like he has years of experience."_

_Sylvester started to sweat slightly, but fortunately, neither of them noticed._

" _Well, okay," she said, nodding. "But I swear to God if you guys get pulled over..."_

_She let the sentence hang for effect._

"Walter and my test results came back. Not pregnant, not sick, no infections, either of us."

"Walter isn't pregnant?" Sylvester said, feigning shock.

He could practically hear her eyes roll. "They're saying they could make an implantation attempt in as little as two weeks or so. She said she'd be contacting you."

That explained the voicemail notification on the top left corner of his display. "I need to get back to her."

"Are you excited?"

Her voice was warm. "I am," he said. "I really am. Ralph and I, we're...we're actually there right now, so I'm going to tell her."

"Good," Paige said. "I'm going grocery shopping. Talk to you later. Don't let Ralph get his clothes wet."

Sylvester looked over at the boy, who was undoing his seatbelt. He smiled. "I will do my best."

Sylvester had been glad when Walter and Paige had gotten together. Not only because he loved both of them and wanted to see them happy, no, that was part of it, but because he had more of an excuse to spend time with Ralph. _I'll watch him_ , he told them often. _We'll go here or there or we'll do experiments, you won't have to worry, you go have some alone time._

He offered with ulterior motives. Ralph had a sitter, Ralph had friends' houses he could go to, and Ralph had always been good about staying in his room playing computer games if his mom and Walter wanted to cuddle on the couch. Half the time they went out they took him along anyway.

But Sylvester still took up the job of watching the boy as much as he could. Despite their age difference, he and the boy related to each other in ways that they couldn't with Walter, Paige, Happy, or Toby.

The boy was so full of life. The boy was bright and energetic and always wanted to be better. He tackled his passions with enthusiasm and drive, and Sylvester loved getting the chance to watch him grow up. He was what the rest of them could have been, if they'd had better situations.

If the procedure was successful and Paige became pregnant, Sylvester knew exactly what kind of parent he wanted to be.

After Megan died, he'd spent a lot of time thinking and reflecting, but never regretting. He told Happy that he and Megan had always grabbed the bull by the horns, had done everything either of them wanted to do, even the little things that came to them on a whim. She knew her life was hers to miss as much as it was hers to live, and she knew it more than most people, because she knew her window of opportunity was smaller. Sylvester had admired her attitude then, and he still tried to channel it himself, with varying degrees of success.

But despite not having any regrets, and although he rarely showed any signs of it on the outside, the first year or so after her passing was a year that Sylvester navigated with an empty, lost feeling. There had been the rocket, the Price is Right, the pediatric ward that Megan's daughter might actually be in someday. But once all that was set and done, once everything was finalized, Sylvester wondered what he was supposed to do. Before her, he'd been fine. He knew he'd always miss her, always wish he could tell her about his day and hear about hers, always long to hold her one more time, but he assumed that his time at work, or with his friends, would be much the same as it had before; after all, Megan had rarely been a part of those aspects of his life when she was alive. But she had changed him, permanently and full time, and she'd made him something that was more than himself, and her passing had robbed him of a part of him that he'd come to like the most. He was no longer spending his nights and weekends at the hospital, he had no more forms to read, there were no more long conversations to have, and there were no more mornings that ended with him rushing to work because they'd cuddled until the last possible second. In taking Megan, Death had compensated Sylvester with the very thing she had been robbed of – more time. And at first, he had no idea what to do with it. He could only fill so much time with things that he thought he hadn't had enough time for before.

But eventually, he picked himself up. He visited children with MS, and he told them Megan's story, how she lived her life with no regrets, how they weren't destined to never be loved. He threw himself into the background of his friends' relationships, delighting in seeing them as happy has he had been. And he made extra effort to be an active part of Ralph's life, beyond sharing action figures and sharing Happy's classic jokes. _Don't be afraid to love,_ Megan had told her brother. _Don't be afraid to live,_ she had told her husband. _Embrace life._

Ralph was life. Ralph was young and strong and although he wasn't an O'Brien, sometimes the way he smiled reminded Sylvester of Megan. He was what Sylvester might have been had he had a parent like Paige, but he was also what Sylvester and Megan's child might be like, with qualities from both parents and a full understanding of why sometimes it was best to live life like one was running out of time.

And Ralph knew. There was no doubt in Sylvester's mind that Ralph knew why it had become extra important to him to include the boy – heck, he was fifteen, soon they'd have to stop calling him 'the boy' – in the mundane parts of his life, and why he continually faced his anxieties about water, about heights, about small spaces, to help Ralph succeed. And Ralph didn't mind, in fact he seemed to enjoy being a part of it. It seemed like an odd thing to say considering his genius status, but Sylvester really believed that Ralph was smarter than any of them gave him credit for.

"I'll be right back," he said, exiting the car. Ralph nodded, hopping up on the hood and pulling out his phone.

Sylvester walked across the sand – it was warm for February, but it _was_ February, and a Monday afternoon besides, so no one was around – stopped at the spot. He knew exactly where it was. He'd counted the paces off that night and he'd never forgotten. He looked up at the sky.

"It's happening, Meg," he said in a quiet voice. "We're going to be parents."

It was a presumptuous thing to say, after all, Paige wasn't pregnant yet and there was always the chance that something could go wrong and none of the embryos would be viable.

But somehow, although calculations and statistics and everything logical told him it wasn't a sure thing, Sylvester hadn't been so sure of anything since the first time he told Megan he loved her.

He gave a little nod, biting his lip as he looked through the sky. "We're going to be parents."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bump it."

"Do you guys have another adoption appointment today?" Paige asked Happy.

"What was your first clue?" She asked, glancing over at Toby, who was using the mirror on her desk to continuously adjust his hat.

"Actually, you," Paige said, sitting on the edge of Happy's desk. "You look tired. Like you guys were up all night watching game shows again."

"So much Newleywed Game," Happy said. "But if we turned it off we'd start overthinking this afternoon, so it was a good distraction."

"You guys should have gone on it when you got married," Paige said. "You know everything about one another, you could have won. Like Sly did, on Price is Right?"

"What is like what Sly did?" Sylvester asked, walking into the garage.

"Paige was saying the doc and I know each other so well we would have killed at the Newlywed Game."

"That game is so invasive," Sylvester said. "What animal does your husband sound like in bed? And who even keeps track of some of that stuff? Once they asked the wives how many orgasms they have in an average week."

Happy stopped, cocked her head, and thought a moment before giving a brief nod. "Three."

"Hey, same," Paige said, nodding at the mechanic.

"Yeeeah, girl, bump it!" Happy extended her fist. Paige met it with her own.

From across the room, Walter frowned. "That's a rather embarrassing conversation," he remarked to Toby.

He turned his head to regard Walter with surprise. "Embarrassing? What's to be embarrassed about? We get it _done_."

Walter stared at Toby for several seconds, then raised his eyebrows slight, nodded, and shrugged, making a fist and holding it out. "Alright. Bump it."

* * *

"Well," Paige said in a loud voice, standing up and walking into the middle of the room. "Sylvester?"

"Oh yes!" He hurried over to stand next to her. "We have exciting news."

"Why do I suspect this little announcement is only for Quintis' benefit?" Toby asked as he, Walter (who had a knowing look on his face), and Happy walked to stand around the other two.

"Paige might be getting pregnant on Thursday!" Sylvester announced, grinning broadly, clapping his hands together. Paige grinned broadly.

"There are multiple ways that could be a weird question without context," Happy commented.

"Congratulations!" Toby said. The excited expression faded almost immediately and he frowned. "I suppose that's premature. Oh well, everyone has to have a first time with that problem..."

Happy rolled her eyes.

"They're going to put four embryos in," Paige said. "They do that so there's more of a chance that one will take."

"All four could take," Toby pointed out.

Paige held up a hand to stop him. "Sly ordered _one_."

"Well, yeah, but technically..."

"Uh-uh!" Paige silenced him.

"The odds of even one taking aren't fantastic," Sylvester said. "I don't think we'll have to worry about multiples." He gave her a playful smirk. "But you'd do anything for me, right? I mean, other than labor mid July?"

"Paige is having Sly's baby, Happy and I are three hours from potentially meeting our own kid, what have you been up to lately, Walt?" Toby gave a mischievous grin. "Oh right, I remember. _Bump it_."

His cell phone went off. "Excuse me," he said, jogging toward the next room.

"Come here, Sly," Happy said, walking toward her friend with her arms out.

Sylvester enthusiastically accepted the hug. "And Walter, he's gonna be an uncle!"

Paige grinned, walking over to her boyfriend and linking her arm around his. "Uncle Walter," she said. "You think the baby will call you Uncle Walt? Oooh, Uncle Wally?"

"The baby won't call me anything," Walter said. "Babies can't talk."

"Happy, we need to talk."

The group grew silent and turned as one to look at Toby, where he stood, slapping his cell phone gently, repeatedly, against his hand.

* * *

"I just didn't think Sylvester of all people would get to be a dad before me. What were the odds of that?"

"It's not a competition," Happy reminded him, though she knew her lack of eye contact was telling him that she was as dejected as he was. They sat on the couch in silence, protected by the walls of the trailer. She reached for his hand. "It's not the end of the world, though. There are other kids."

"I don't think that should be allowed," he said. "His parents were going to give him up, and then, three hours before they just decide they can't do it?"

"We weren't even going to be adopting him today," Happy said. "Just meeting him to see if we'd get along."

"But it's another step." He sighed. "They're all so happy out there. And I'm happy for them, it's just...we've been working on this for months now."

"It'll be hard on them too," Happy said. "You know once she's pregnant, both Sly and Walt are going to start missing Megan more. They'll wish she would get to be here to know her kid. It's mid-February. If Paige gets pregnant on the first couple tries, the baby will be born near the anniversary of Megan's death." She scooted closer to him, sliding an arm over his shoulder. "We will find a child for us, doc. We hadn't even met this one yet. There are a ton of kids out there who need a family. It's just a matter of things falling into place."

"You know," Toby said, "as long as I've loved you you've been finding ways to surprise me." He smiled affectionately at her. "I'm the one that gives the inspirational speeches. I'm the one that analyzes. But as much as I can analyze me, and figure out what's bothering me, I've never been very good at fixing it. And you, you just step right up, take my place, say exactly what I need to hear." He put a hand over hers and leaned over, kissing her forehead.

"Let's think of it this way," she suggested. "Whoever becomes our kid, we're going to love them so much."

"And if we'd gotten little Elliot," Toby finished, "we wouldn't have the chance to be parents to our kid. And how could we look at our kid, and wish instead we'd had a kid we've never actually met?"

"Exactly." She grinned. "Feel better?"

"Much." He raised his eyebrows, glancing around the trailer. "You know, they're probably still chatting about Thursday...what do we say..." He reached for her, easing her onto her back, her head resting on the arm of the couch, "...we make it four this week?"

"Hey, that's how many babies Paige might have," she quipped.

Toby gave a little laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone continues to like this story (I do love comments if there's anything in particular you liked btw ;) ) and I should have another chapter up in a few days.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me go, cranking out a chapter a day, haha (this will not continue I'm sure, enjoy it while it lasts). Hope you like this one...I really enjoyed writing it.

"Alright, Ms. Dineen," Denise said. "If you could just lie back, yes, there you go," she said as Paige shuffled her weight farther on the exam table and eased onto her back. "Now just try to relax, I know a pap smear isn't the most pleasant procedure in the world, but this should be a similar sensation, so not too foreign an experience. Okay?"

"Alright." She shifted the position of her gown.

"You need me?" Walter asked from where he sat in the poorly padded chair near the room's computer.

She didn't. Not really. Like Denise had said, all she had to do was lay there, feel some uncomfortable pressure for a few moments, and then go home and hope the procedure was successful. Any woman in her mid-thirties with access to health care had similar processes done many times before, and she'd never had anyone accompany her to a pap.

But Walter had insisted on coming today, and Paige was realizing that she was grateful he had, because while this was a similar procedure, at least on Paige's part, it wasn't the same intention as a pap smear. He'd come with her in the first place _because_ it was different, profoundly so, and it was, Paige had to admit, a little scary. She could easily handle the touch of nerves on her own, but if he was here anyway...she smiled, extending her hand toward him and opening and closing her fist. He rose, stepping over to stand at her shoulder and grabbing her hand.

"Okay." Denise and her assistant, a (very short, Paige realized) woman named Leah, leaned over. "Here we go..."

"This looks so uncomfortable," Walter said.

"It is, but it's kinda deceiving, really all they're doing is..." she trailed off; Walter knew what they were doing, he was just making small talk to distract her. "Thankfully," she said, "this doesn't take very long." She smirked, withholding a quip about her last pregnancy having a more enjoyable starting point. Walter no longer had any insecurities regarding her previous relationship with Drew, but with two relative strangers in the room who knew she and Walter had no children together, it wasn't the time.

"Alrighty," Denise said with a smile. "And take one is complete! With any luck, we won't have to do this again." She patted Paige's knee. "You can sit up now."

Paige felt Walter's hands slide under her shoulders and she lifted her head, helping her sit up. "Cross your fingers. So what happens now? I know you told me already."

"We'll run it by you one more time, of course," Leah said. "You may resume normal activity. Patients used to be put on bed rest, but studies have shown that moving around increases blood flow and can improve the chances of a successful implantation. But by all means, if you feel sick or dizzy or fatigued, sit or lay down for a little bit."

"We're setting you up with the progesterone," Denise said. "Remember, those shots are daily, and they may hurt a little bit so experiment with icing the area before the injection. I assume Walter here will be doing the honors."

"I'm gonna say it's a safe bet that the baby's father won't want to do them and I very strongly second that wish," Paige joked.

* * *

Sylvester stood up as soon as Paige and Walter exited the waiting room. "It's done."

She spread her arms out to the side, palms up. "It's done. I might be pregnant."

"Technically you're not pregnant," Sylvester said. "Pregnancy doesn't start until implantation occurs, but..." his voice grew louder, and more energetic, " _I am so excited I don't even care about terminology right now!_ " He threw his arms around her. "And that's a big deal for me, you know that, right?" he whispered in her ear.

Paige smiled broadly as Sylvester let her go and immediately turned to Walter. "You two," he said, putting his hand on Walter's arm. "You're letting your lives change for me, you're..." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he shrugged, words failing him. "You two."

"We love you, Sly," Walter said as the two men hugged.

"We find out in what, two weeks?" Sylvester asked.

Paige nodded. "I'll come back in for a test. Though honestly..." she wrung her hands, smiling excitedly, "I want to go to the store and take a test right now. I know that would be a complete waste, but I just want to know."

* * *

" _Ow_."

The word hissed its way through Paige's teeth as she leaned over the bathroom sink, her elbows resting on the edge and her head resting in her hands.

"All done, all done," came Walter's voice. She felt him begin to massage, and she sucked in a deep breath. The embryo transfer wasn't painful and she'd definitely had worse pains than those caused by a needle in her butt muscle but still, _first pregnancy, two. Second pregnancy, zero._

She reminded herself that this transfer might not be successful. _Stop assuming. Stop calling this a pregnancy until you know for sure._ She wished she could take a damn test.

"Pain going away any?" Walter asked.

She glanced up into the mirror to see him. "I guess a little." She straightened up, leaning back slightly to rest her head against him. "I'm cramping a little, though."

"They said that isn't anything to worry about, at least." Walter studied their reflections in the mirror. "Are you ready for bed?"

"Uh-huh." She, Walter, and Sylvester had all gone into work immediately following the appointment at the doctor's – they had a case. Fortunately, it was local, and only took them four hours to complete. She'd stayed back at the garage. Denise and Leah had told her to resume normal activities, but she didn't think ending up at the wrong end of yet another gun could possibly increase her chances of pregnancy. "I don't like this waiting. With Ralph, you know, I knew he existed just a couple hours after I suspected." She'd told Walter the story before, how they were in the middle of moving again, there'd been issues finding an apartment, and she hadn't realized she was late until she was sixteen days late. A near immediate morning trip to the drugstore had given her the answer. This time, she had to wait fourteen days. She didn't know how she'd be able to stand it.

They left the bathroom and crawled into bed. "You going to be able to sleep?" He asked.

She guessed he was referring to her cramps. "They're not really that bad," she said. "They're just enough to notice, is all." She reached up and turned off the light.

Almost immediately uncomfortable – she could never find a good sleeping position when her mind was occupied – Paige rolled over to her left side, facing the bedroom door. There were a few moments of silent stillness, and then she felt and heard the mattress respond to Walter shifting his weight, scooting up behind her. She tilted her head to the right; she could see the ceiling fan if it was light, and felt his nose push against her cheek. His hand slid over her ribs, then down to between the top of her hips, and it rested there, fingers splayed over her skin.

Paige was startled. She knew how fathers to be were – both from experience and observation. They put their hands over where the baby was – or might be – protectively, either wanting to shield it from harm or trying to find a way to hold it, even months before it would be viable out in the world. If they were adding to their family, she would probably have found the gesture a warm, welcome one. But this wasn't their child. If she was pregnant, Walter wouldn't be one of the parents.

But if she was pregnant, Megan would be. Walter had loved his sister unreservedly even back when he denied feeling absolutely anything else. Walter still loved her, but he couldn't protect her anymore, and he would never hold her again.

His hand was warm against Paige's skin, and by the time she fell asleep, she realized that she shouldn't be surprised when Walter acted like this baby was adding to their family. There was actually nothing more accurate than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you, a HUGE thank you, to everyone who reads. And to those of you that comment/review, I get so excited when I see a review alert, like sometimes I refresh hoping one will pop up, and your comments absolutely make my day, every single time. Thank you SO MUCH for telling me what you think.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little on the shorter side, but I'm going to be working a ton of hours over the next few days (I just finished day six of nine in a row) and I wanted to get something out, and I have a list of flashbacks I want to include in this fic and figured this was a good point in the story to include this one.

When Paige was sixteen, she'd stumbled across Friends fanfiction on the internet. The story she ended up clicking on was a particularly bad "lemon" that involved Monica rising from the bed immediately afterward to run to the bathroom to throw up. The author's justification for the nausea was, of course, that she was pregnant. Even as a naïve high school sophomore, Paige had rolled her eyes. Eggs weren't fertilized within seconds, it took even longer to attach to the uterine wall, and morning sickness didn't start until weeks after conception.

So, twenty years later and with one pregnancy already behind her, Paige knew very well that being on her knees with her head in the toilet just twelve hours after an IVF attempt was _not_ a sign of pregnancy.

But she knew it _was_ related.

When she'd learned of Ralph's existence, she'd grown so nervous so quickly she knew it was possible to cry and vomit at the same time. She was twenty, two hours away from her parents at school, and although they'd already been together for over a year, they hadn't even briefly touched on the subject of marriage, much less having a kid.

_Drew opened the door, a grin on his face when he saw her. "Hey!" He gestured toward the tiny space within. "Phil and I are going to go to Slabaugh Field and throw the ball around, but..." he frowned. "Were you crying?"_

_She put a hand on his chest and walked him backward into his dorm, then turned and walked into the bathroom. He followed her. "What's going on? Is it your dad?" She pulled the stick out of her pocked and pressed it into his hand._

_He stared. "Whoa."_

_She nodded, a hand over her mouth. He looked up at her. "What are you going to do?"_

_She threw up her hands. "I don't know. My parents will be furious. And we're still in school and I don't have any money..."_

" _I'm graduating in six weeks," he said. "I'm going pro, we'll have some money." His expression darkened. "I know about your parents, though."_

" _I'll have to drop out. They won't help me pay for my last year, and if you're traveling I'll have to go with you. And I'll have to cancel my voice lessons." She knew all of this. She could make all of those decisions on her own. She was just afraid that if either of them stopped talking even for a second, she would break down again._

" _I've already told you you don't need voice lessons."_

" _Yes I do. Three of the songs on that list are out of my range, I don't have a full third octave yet."_

" _It's your decision," Drew said. "There will be a lot you'll have to give up if you keep it, but money shouldn't be too bad, not once I'm playing."_

" _How are you not scared?"_

" _Maybe it hasn't really sunk in yet," he said, with a shrug. "But look, it'll be okay. I love you, you know?" He put a hand on her shoulders. "Love gets people through a lot of hardship. There'll be sacrifices, but I don't think you'll regret them. I know you've always wanted to be a mom. It's happening a little sooner than either of us expected, that's all."_

Drew had had completely good intentions at the time; even sixteen years later, Paige didn't harbor any resentment to him for having to drop out of college and stop working on her singing, even though she didn't realize until years later that the sacrifices that came with being a parent had all come from from her. No, she didn't regret a single sacrifice she had to make, because even when they were dating, even when she loved him, she hadn't made a single one of those hard decisions for Drew. She'd made them for Ralph. The love that had gotten her through those years of hardship was the love that flowed from her when she merely thought about her son.

Sixteen years after that first pregnancy test, Paige was once again a nervous wreck, but this time it wasn't because she found out she was pregnant – but because she was afraid that she wasn't.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's a little Quintis/Happy. I don't think I've ever spent a chapter in Happy's head before.

In all the years they'd been together, Toby had never fallen asleep on top of her, so when he drifted off, his head on the pillow beside her, her body still pinned beneath his, Happy put a hand to her mouth and began to giggle.

Her other arm slid around him, resting on his bare back, her palm pressing against his skin. She liked when he fell asleep so quickly after they slept together, as he often did. He'd had difficulty falling asleep in the past and had often turned to medication to help – once with near disastrous results for their relationship. With her, he was capable of staying conscious long into the night, as they cuddled and whispered to each other, but when she almost liked it better when he fell asleep quickly. It meant he was content. Relaxed. At ease. Five years together and she still couldn't believe that her presence had that kind of effect on him, that her skin against his was enough to remove the tension from his mind. Paige deserved every ounce of credit she got for her ability to get Walter out of his head, but at times it was just as difficult to accomplish with Toby. Happy simultaneously prided herself on it and wondered how in the world, out of all the people in existence, _she_ had the capability of getting him like this, completely tranquil.

He began to feel heavier as he relaxed, and she grunted in discomfort, removing her hand from his back to put on the mattress beside her, pushing herself up and onto her side, rolling his body off of her. She could tell by the way his head and arm moved limply that his sleep hadn't been disturbed by the motion.

"You're such a dork," she whispered affectionately, shifting her weight to rest her head on his chest. She reached her arm across him, grabbing his wrist, and drawing it up over his stomach so she could reach his hand and curl her fingers around it.

Tensions had been high at the garage the past week, which was odd, considering no one was fighting. It was a strange, but just as unwelcome, kind of tension. Paige was, uncharacteristically, a nervous wreck over the outcome of next week's pregnancy test. Sylvester, from what Happy could tell, was feeling guilty over ever allowing her to attempt surrogacy and get herself into that anxious state – one that he knew too well, and hated the idea of his friends experiencing. Walter was distracted by the wince that appeared on Paige's face every time she sat down or leaned against something – the daily shots she was getting had her in seemingly constant pain. And although none of them said anything, Happy knew that she and Toby's disappointment over the adoption process seemingly stalling were only a part of the quiet dissatisfaction going through the garage. Ralph was acting oddly too, offering less information about his schooling than he used to, and clamming up when anyone asked him about his friends. _Lay off him for a bit,_ she'd suggested to Paige when the older woman mentioned that it was concerning her. Truth be told, it wasn't like Ralph to get like that, but they were all in somewhat unique situations recently, and Happy thought he might be responding to that. _He's fifteen, his brain processes differently than most people. He's just adjusting to growing up._ She'd been reading a lot about children's behavior lately. She knew her experiences in the foster care system weren't all encompassing, and she had to be ready for anything. That's what a good mother would do, take any situation she was given in stride, be loving, accepting, but firm at the same time.

She had never met her mother, but she _knew_ that's what Grace would have been like. She could be accused of idealizing, of building up in her head what she knew she could never be proven wrong on, but this feeling was solid. This feeling was as good as fact.

Happy tipped her head; she could barely see it in the night, but she knew the silhouette by the window was the picture of Grace, seven months pregnant, her hands on her belly, her smile impossibly wide. Happy sighed, her voice escaping past her lips, barely audible.

"I'm going to make you proud, Mom." _I'm going to be the kind of mom I know you'd have been._


	12. Chapter 12

Walter kissed his way back up Paige's body as her breathing began to find its regular rhythm again. He let his mouth rest against her neck, his tongue dancing over her skin, before returning his lips to her own. She rolled to her side, melting against him, sighing into his mouth, her kisses on the sloppy, lazy side as they always were when she was recovering. She could feel him smiling against her lips.

When they'd first gotten together, she'd tried to reciprocate, and he'd always refused. She tried to assure him that she didn't mind – though she'd refrained from telling him that she'd been told she was good at it given who she'd gotten that information from – but he still, every time, just shook his head no, and went back to kissing her. He never had any objections about her hands, but every time she tried _that_ he was adamant.

And she had felt guilty, guilty letting him go down on her, guilty for enjoying it _so goddamn much_. After the first few days of being together, after the initial joy of allowing themselves to act on their feelings had begun to wear off, they were suddenly awkward. She wanted to ask him why, but was afraid of the answer, afraid to hear that maybe he didn't trust her as much as she thought – maybe he wasn't as comfortable with her as she thought. She knew her conflict was not lost on him, but instead of their communication becoming even more open once they were together, it was in a temporary shutdown. Their chemistry was there, their desire for each other unwavering, but they were both reluctant to make a move. The tension between them was somehow, once again, unresolved, but neither of them knew, or were comfortable with, how to move past it.

One evening, as she lay on the couch, her head on a pillow in his lap as their fingers linked over her stomach, he cleared his throat, hesitated, and said he had to tell her something. She raised her eyebrows, looking up at him with worry.

He told her of his first time with a woman, how she was hired by a friend of his so he could "see what all the fuss is about." How _that's_ what she'd done, straight out of the gate, and how a teenaged Walter, with a significant discomfort of human contact and no connection to her whatsoever, had come away from the experience feeling something along the lines of repulsed, and his dislike of human contact was only strengthened. How even now, more than fifteen years later, he was uncomfortable just thinking about it. It wasn't a trust issue, he just didn't like it, he assured her, and he didn't want it.

She was silent for several minutes after his admission, hating that he'd had such an experience and hating that all her good intentions had done was bring up bad memories. She had already known that the recent hesitance to be intimate on her part stemmed from feeling guilty and insecure – she realized for him, it was the knowledge of what she would try.

Sitting up, she eased into his lap, her legs still stretching across the couch, and put her hands on the side of his face. She thanked him for telling her. She apologized, both for his past experience and for her previous attempts at something that revolted him. She promised him that she would never try again. She told him that she could live without receiving, if it bothered him. And she told him that she loved him, for the first time.

No, he told her, she didn't understand. They had something, something meaningful, between them. He wasn't going down on her because he felt he had to, he explained. The need to be successful was hardwired into his psyche, he reminded her, and experiencing her – her specifically – in the state he could put her in _did_ do something for him. Plus, he added with a crooked smile, he also loved kissing, good old fashioned lips on lips. Her mouth on his gave him some of the most powerful feelings he thought possible. She shouldn't feel guilty, not at all. When they were kissing, her eyes were by his, and the way she looked at him sometimes rivaled the way she looked. He craved that, required it, almost. _Especially_ when they were intimate.

Paige had said the words, but she knew that him telling her all of this, letting her into a negative part of his past, him talking so freely about how she made him feel, doing it while one hand was on her back and the other was lacing fingers with hers, was him doing exactly what she had just done - saying  _I love you_ for the first time.

So three years later, having gone nearly a month without being able to do anything else, they were both all smiles as they held each other, Paige's flushed skin and contracting muscles returning to their normal state.

"You okay?" He whispered. It sounded like something a new lover would say, but she knew that he was talking about her shots. She was almost constantly uncomfortable; it hurt to sit, to lay on that side. He'd accidentally bumped his hip against the area when scooting behind her as she washed the dishes the previous evening, and she'd nearly doubled over.

"Yeah," she said quietly, kissing him again. "It's okay. No pain no gain, right?"

"Uh-uh. Hey, just two more days, though. You have the appointment on Friday?"

Paige's face contorted, and Walter's relaxed, happy expression rapidly turned to one of alarm. "Paige?"

She put a hand to her mouth as the tears leaked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this chapter is going to be very relevant to the story – I wasn't just sitting around like "I'm gonna think about whether or not Walter likes blow jobs and then write about that." No, the backstory, with their brief communication failure, his requirements for intimacy, and all that has played and will play a part in aspects of their relationship during this fic.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter picks up a couple hours after the last one.

Sylvester picked up on the fourth ring. "Walter?"

"Hey, you up?"

It was not the most intelligent question Walter had ever asked.

"What's wrong?" Walter heard Sylvester shift the phone. "It's two a.m., Walter."

Walter supposed that this could have waited. But... "I'm sorry Sly, I just...were you going to go to Paige's appointment with us on Friday?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Sylvester responded. "I know she's nervous and I figured she might want to tell me herself if it didn't work."

"I think you need to be there."

_He drew her against him. "Love! What's wrong?"_

_She made a noise that Walter could tell was an attempt to form words, but it was unintelligible. "Hey," he said, rubbing her back. "Hey."_

_He wasn't sure how else to respond – he didn't yet know what was upsetting her. She buried her head into his chest, her own heaving sharply a few times as she struggled to calm herself down._

_Then she spoke. "Once you hit thirty..." her voice was the shrill tone that accompanied crying, "the per cycle success rate of IVF goes down." She sniffed. "And to start with, it's only about twenty percent."_

" _We knew that."_

" _I know." He could feel her breath against him as she spoke. "I just don't want to let them down."_

 _Walter bit his lip as he realized that she meant Sylvester_ and _Megan. "You won't," he said slowly. He kissed her hair._

" _I know Sylvester won't blame me, or anything like that. I just really want to do this, and I know how badly he wants it, and this waiting period just feels cruel, because we're all hoping, and then if it doesn't happen, we feel like fools."_

" _Nah," he said. "We all know the odds are long. It's only one chance, you know. If you and I were trying to get pregnant, it's not like we would try once and then wait. But that's how this procedure works. And if you aren't pregnant, they'll try again."_

_She was silent for a long time, then spoke, her voice small._

" _I don't want any more shots."_

 _Walter supposed he should have expected that answer. He_ hated _administering them. Even massaging the area didn't seem to provide her with much relief, and her feet were hurting her, from all the extra standing. If he didn't know Paige, he'd wonder if she meant that she wouldn't do this again. But he did know her, and he knew her quiet comment meant she would get more shots if she wasn't pregnant – because she would do this again. She would do it as many times as it took._

"You do?" Sylvester asked. "I mean, I'd love to be there, but I was figuring if the test is negative she'd be pretty upset – I know how worried she is and God, I feel so bad – and she wouldn't want me to see her until you'd calmed her down."

"That's the thing," Walter said. "I don't think I could make her feel better. She's put so much pressure on herself to not let you down, and...I think she would need to hear it from you. That it's okay, you know."

"You're going to be there, too?"

"Only if she wants me there."

"I think she will. I think you need to be."

Walter cocked his head. "She might just want you, Sly. It's not my baby."

"But it's your sister's baby."

Walter was going to speak, say he was a very smart man, he knew whose egg it was, but he realized that Sylvester had paused for effect, and he kept quiet as the mathematician's words sank in.

"She wants to do this for me, yes," Sylvester said. "She knows how important this is to me, and it wouldn't surprise me if she wants to do it for Meg, too. But Walter, Megan's child would be your niece or nephew. If she's afraid of this not happening, if she's scared she's dangling a carrot in front of me, she's scared of doing the same thing to you. This baby...is going to affect all of us."

Walter was silent, thinking, biting his lip. _Ralph was right. This has put so much stress on her._ Finally he nodded, even though Sylvester couldn't see him. "Both of us should be there, then."

"I agree. Now, Walter," there was a yawning sound, "let's talk about this tomorrow, okay?"

"Night, Sly."

Walter walked back into the bedroom. Paige was on her stomach, her arms under the pillow and her head buried into it. Putting his phone on the nightstand, Walter eased back into bed, drawing the covers higher up over her bare shoulders.

Her face, although he couldn't see it well in the dark, seemed content. Maybe she was dreaming, he thought, dreaming about something nice, a brief reprieve from her current reality.


	14. Chapter 14

Sylvester met Walter and Paige at the doctor's office, and initially, she looked startled to see him.

" _Do you want me at your appointment tomorrow?" He asked._

" _Walter is going to go with me," she replied, giving him a little smile. "Not...not that I'm saying don't come," she added quickly. "Just...if you don't want to, you don't have to. I mean, nothing really is going to happen other than getting the results. If they're negative, we'll schedule our next IVF day. If they're positive, I'll just get some instructions on how to proceed, which I can't imagine will be much different than when I was pregnant with Ralph, not this early. At two weeks a lot of mothers to be don't even know they're pregnant yet."_

Sylvester decided that in addition to him actually wanting to be there, Paige did, secretly, want him to come. Seeing the look of relief come over her face as they walked closer, Sylvester could tell that his interpretation had been correct.

"Hey Sly," she said, reaching out for him. As they hugged, Sylvester glanced at Walter and smiled.

"Okay," Walter said when Sylvester and Paige broke apart, "are you guys ready to go do this thing?"

"And here I thought his cheerleading would be saved for when I'm in labor," Paige joked.

"Consider this practicing," Walter said, poking her shoulder with his finger as they walked inside.

"So you had your blood drawn yesterday morning, right?" Sylvester said.

"Yeah," Paige said. "They said today they should have the results and that I should come in for them, I don't know why they can't just do it all over the phone." Her voice sounded tired. Sylvester had a feeling what she was tired of was not knowing. He refrained from reminding her that she had requested to come in for her results.

* * *

 

"Oh my God," Paige said, her knees bouncing, her hands on the arms of the chair, "how much longer do we have to wait?"

Sylvester was going to explain that there was no way of calculating that, but he caught himself – she knew neither he nor Walter could predict when someone would join them in the room. She was just anxious, frustrated, like they all were.

"Do you have to get Ralph from school today?" Sylvester asked. On Paige's other side, he saw Walter's posture change with his sudden intake of air and regretted the question.

"Oh no," Paige said, shaking her head. "Mister Independence is now too good for the carpool _and_ for his mother picking him up."

Paige's tone surprised Sylvester. The teenage years had changed Paige and Ralph's relationship, that was no secret, but overall, they still were pretty strong. Special, both friends and strangers called their bond, even recently. But he knew that over the past couple of weeks, something had changed. Ralph's temper had shortened a bit; he'd begun to get upset at anything that could suggest he couldn't be independent, and Sylvester knew if he was picking up on it, so was Paige. "So..." Sylvester started, figuring the can was open, "he's just gonna...walk?"

"No," Paige said. "Owen got his license. _He_ can drive me now, Mom."

"I'm sorry."

"No," Paige said again, "I'm glad he has friends, I'm glad he isn't reliant on me, I just...I selfishly wish he still was sometimes. I loved knowing he needed me."

"You're his mom," Walter said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "And you're such a good mom to him. He still needs you. And he knows that."

"I know. I just wish he could stay my little boy."

The trio jumped as there was a knock at the door, and Denise entered, giving them all a polite smile. "Good afternoon, everyone. Paige, Sylvester, Walter. How are we doing today?"

"That depends a lot on the next few minutes," Sylvester blurted, immediately feeling guilty. He and Walter were supposed to be preparing to make Paige _not_ feel bad if the test was negative.

"Well, we have the results of your blood test," Denise said, pausing a moment before the corners of her mouth turned upward. "And the test came back positive. Congratulations."

Every word Denise said began speeding around in Sylvester's head, but those three were echoing loudly, in this whirling of words. It was all registering, and at the same time none of it was registering at all. He realized his eyes were watering as he stood up, and she did too, and he pulled her against him, lifting her off the ground and twirling her in the tiny space.

Then Walter stood. Walter had waited, had refrained from hugging his girlfriend immediately, had allowed he, Sly, the father, to interact with her first. But now his arms were out, Paige was in between the two men, they were all smiling, and laughing, and hugging, and the words Denise was saying floated around Sylvester's mind, only a few registering.

_Congratulations... pregnancy...next appointment... December tenth._

The relevance of the date Denise had mentioned didn't register in Sylvester's mind until they were leaving the office to head into work.

* * *

 

"Can I tell Cabe that since I'm pregnant, I shouldn't have to work until midnight?" Paige asked jokingly as she and Walter climbed the stairs.

"That may work later on," Walter said, "but I think today in particular, everyone knew you weren't going to be able to rest or sleep even if you wanted to."

"I'm just so excited." They reached her door and she faced him, stepping closer, putting her hands on the top of his hips. "Did you see the look on Sylvester's face when he found out he was going to be a dad?" She reached up and tapped his chin with a finger. "And you're gonna be an uncle, Walter O'Brien."

He grinned at her, then frowned. "I left my jacket in the car."

"You can get it tomorrow."

"No. My phone is in it and I need to reschedule that consultation with Cooper."

"Okay." Paige fished her own keys out of her pocket. "See you in a minute, then." He headed back downstairs as she pushed open the front door.

Ralph was laying on the couch, head tucked to his chest, hands folded over his stomach. The remote control was pinned under him, causing the TV to keep changing channels.

She tugged on the visible end of the remote and it came free. Turning off the television, Paige knelt in front of him, putting a hand on his head and drawing it back, her fingers through his hair. "Hey, Ralph."

He woke, his expression defaulting to a frown. "God, Mom..." He rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry to wake you," she said, withholding _though it's not like you were in your room_ because she had to pick her battles, plus she knew in these circumstances she'd have marched right into his room and woken him up anyway.

Ralph's eyebrows rose a fraction, and he rolled onto his side to face her, his look of annoyance changing into something completely different. She forced her expression to remain neutral, to not let her face give it away. "Mom," Ralph said, eyes wide, "are you having a baby?"

She allowed her face to relax into the smile. "Yeah, Ralph," she said, feeling the happiness rush through her again as her son grabbed her hands and grinned. "Yeah. I'm having a baby."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, two chapters in one day. I got home from work and am apparently incapable of sleep, so I wrote, not my original novel that I really need to finish, but fanfic instead, because apparently that's how my mind rolls.

"Paige," Toby said as she came down the stairs, holding out the receiver on the garage's landline. "Phone for you. I apologize in advance."

Paige rolled her eyes. Even without Toby's comment, she already knew who was on the other line. There was only one person that would make a personal call to her on the garage's phone despite knowing her cell number. She took the receiver from him and he retreated to the other side of the room, where Walter, Happy, and Sly were working on a client's computer. "Hello, Drew."

"Paige, excellent." She heard him clear her throat. "I just got off the phone with Ralph, and..."

"He's at school."

"I know. I called the office and asked to speak with him."

Paige would never understand what his problem was with calling a cell phone. "What did you two talk about?"

"That's what I'm calling you about."

There was a silence, and Paige felt worry shoot through her. She knew Drew's family had some medical problems, and he was nearing the age when his father passed away suddenly. He and Ralph had never really gotten close, they talked, they spent time together when they could, but they didn't have the kind of father-son relationship Paige had hoped for when he was born. But despite all of that, she knew Ralph wasn't ready to lose his father. He still struggled with processing emotions sometimes, and if his father died, he would find it hard to cope. Paige would, too. It had been a dozen years since she last loved him, but he would always be important to her. "Drew, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Actually...the reason I'm calling is Melanie and I are expecting a baby," Drew said. "And I know you and I have been over a long time, I just felt that given our history, you and Ralph should both hear it from me rather than through the grapevine."

"The grapevine" was nonexistent, he lived thousands of miles away and had been with Melanie for going on two years now, she wasn't the type to call Ralph up and give him news that he should be hearing from his father. Drew was the only one that could possibly tell them. Still, Paige appreciated what he was trying to do, not make it seem like he was keeping the information from her and Ralph – who definitely deserved to know about a little brother or sister.

One thing Paige knew for damn sure, he could be as upfront with her as he wanted to be; she was _not_ telling him she was pregnant today.

"Well, congratulations," she said. "When's she due?"

"In early August. We haven't told anyone but family yet, still gonna wait a couple weeks on that. She's terrified something will go wrong."

 _Well, don't I know that feeling._ "Are you prepared to deal with the cravings again?" she asked lightly.

"They've already started. She melts chocolate into a pot with baked beans."

Paige put a hand to her mouth, gagging at the mere suggestion. She covered it by clearing her throat, loudly. "Well, again, congratulations. You..." she trailed off, preventing _'re gonna be a great dad_ from escaping her lips. She'd just used that very line on Sylvester, not two days earlier, but she couldn't believe she'd actually almost said that to Drew.

Anger bubbled up. She thought back on how Sylvester had reacted when they'd gotten the news. He'd cried, he'd driven to the beach to tell Megan, he'd been greeting her each day with a _Morning Paige, morning little one_. Drew had _never_ been that excited about Ralph.

She forced the anger down. Drew was much older now, and although she'd only met Melanie a couple of times, Paige was certain that the two of them would last. This second child of Drew Baker would have his or her father in their life, and she wouldn't wish the alternative on anyone.

And as far as fathers go, Paige knew Ralph _could_ have had a lot worse.

They made small talk another minute or two, and then Paige hung up.

"So Melanie's pregnant, huh?"

She jumped. "You and Toby both need to stop doing that."

Happy smirked. "Hopefully he'll stick around this time."

Paige pressed her lips together. "I think he knows better, now. He knows he missed out on a real relationship with Ralph. I don't think he'll do it again. But you know what, if he does?"

"Not your problem."

"Not my problem," Paige affirmed, nodding. She put a hand over her stomach. "This one, this one's dad wants them. And that's what my concern is right now." She looked at Happy sympathetically; she and Toby had gone a week now without hearing from the adoption agency. "And when you and Toby become parents, that kid's gonna be just as lucky as Sylvester and Megan's."

Happy smiled. "Thanks. I just hope it happens."

"I imagine it must be hard."

She knew Happy knew she was referring to the fact that both Sylvester and Drew were having children while she and Toby struggled to adopt. The mechanic shrugged. "We're both used to things taking time, and we're used to discovering that the things that take time often end up better than if they'd been rushed. And if there's a reason that every time we go we come back alone, well..." she shrugged. "I'm willing to wait for it."

* * *

"So, what do you think of Andrew having another kid?"

"Honestly?" Walter threw one of his darts at the board. Miss. He didn't understand why this game was so hard. He understood even less why Paige set it up and even less than that why he and Toby always played it when they had a talk.

"Yeah, honestly." Toby would up, catching a low point square at the outer rim.

"I'm irritated that he's acting more excited about this kid than he ever did about Ralph."

"I'd ask how you would know that as you weren't there," Toby said, watching as Walter launched another dart, which sunk into the insulation above the board, "but I never mind criticizing the guy." He sent a dart sailing toward the board, and he and Walter both jumped in surprise when it hit the bullseye. "Paige says he's matured, I dunno." He raised his eyebrows at his friend's relative silence. "Walt?"

"She told me once, shortly after we got together, that I shouldn't say anything negative about the guy," Walter said. "Because if I do, and Ralph overhears, it could have a poor effect on him."

"Saying that one of Ralph's parents is bad is like saying half of Ralph is bad," Toby said. "I've read about that logic. I suppose it has some validity. But we all know that parenting is not biological, and Ralph is well aware of who fathered him but as far as he's concerned, Walter, _you_ are his dad."

Walter turned the dart he was holding over in his hand. "Uh, about that."

Toby stopped, raising his eyebrows expectantly. "Yeah?"

"I've been...uh..." Walter furrowed his brow and cleared his throat, still staring at the dart. He blinked, then looked at Toby. "I need your advice on something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to anyone who picked up the Hamilton reference I threw in there. ;) Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope, I have not forgotten about Quintis! The first part of this chapter is going to segue into the next part of their storyline.

"Here here," Toby said, slapping the table with his hand. "Do it again."

"I knew when I married you I'd be spending a lot of time stroking your ego," she said, rolling her eyes and lobbing another oyster cracker across the picnic table. Toby leaned to the side, tongue out, catching the cracker and drawing it into his mouth, grinning triumphantly. "I'm five for five."

"I'm so proud." She cracked a grin.

"You finish that job for Walter today?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh. He's pretty pleased." She wiped her mouth with the napkin.

"I'm glad you got it finished," Toby said, "because otherwise you might have missed Mountain Mondays."

"Lunch on the mountainside has been our thing since we got married and you know we've never missed," Happy said. "Also, I already told you we are not calling it Mountain Mondays."

"And I said we are, it's a tie."

"And I said you had to find someone who would break the tie in your favor," Happy reminded him, "and you failed."

"Eh, I can probably still get Ralph," Toby said, "especially if I point out that Paige doesn't agree."

"I wonder what's up with him lately," Happy said. "Has he talked to you?"

"No," Toby said, "but you know, all of us, we had fairly traumatic teenage years. Ralph has a stable family life, friends who genuinely like him, he's doing well in school. He has a little bit of attitude. I think we shouldn't be looking for something that doesn't exist. For all we know, it's something simple, like he has a professor in one of those arts and humanities classes they make him take that has a beef with the left side of people's brains. Or maybe girl trouble. Any number of typical teenage things that we all want to make into some bigger issue because of our histories."

"You're probably right," Happy said, tipping her head back and tossing an oyster cracker straight up. The cracker landed against her closed eye. She opened the other one in surprise.

"Don't give it up!" Toby said quickly as she began to slowly tilt her head down. The cracker slid up onto her cheek bone, resting against her nose. She tipped her head forward again, opening her eye and sticking out her tongue. With one quick move, the cracker was in her mouth.

"Yes!" Toby said, throwing both hands up in the air. He leaned forward as she grinned, lifting her hands to meet him in a high ten. "That's my wife!"

They grinned at each other, then Happy frowned, glancing over Toby's shoulder. "Who is that?"

Toby looked behind him. "Who?"

"There was someone in the bushes. Watching us."

Toby pushed his hat farther back on his head. "Where? I don't see anyone."

"They saw me watching them and backed out of sight." Happy stood up to see over her husband's head. "I think they're gone. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman."

"Do you want to go?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Nah," she said, sitting back down. "It's probably nothing."

* * *

Walter felt Paige shift her weight, lifting her head and scooting closer to him before replacing her cheek against his heart. His left arm was around her and he flexed the fingers on that hand, affectionately running his fingertips over her ribs. He felt her answer him by pressing her cheek harder against him.

Ralph was in the chair adjacent to the couch, a text for school resting on the arm. He had a pen cap in his mouth as he wrote in the notebook propped up on his crisscrossed legs.

Walter couldn't remember a time he felt more content in a scenario that wasn't similar to this. He lowered his head, resting his chin on the top of her head.

He was getting better at it, telling her that he loved her with those specific words. For all the progress she'd made with him, words still sometimes were difficult, especially words that carried so much weight. He knew that what he felt for her with every atom of his being was love, but that was precisely why the words were so hard. How did three words, eight letters, adequately represent what they had?

But he knew that they did. Somehow, _somehow_ they had that power.

_So why not here? Why not now?_

Walter glanced at Ralph, who raised his eyebrows a fraction and slowly closed his notebook. Walter dropped his head near Paige again. "Hey," he said in a low voice, his lips in her hair.

She lifted her head, looking up at him. "Hmmm?"

"I have something for you."

She smiled. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "I hope it's okay." His free hand dug through his pocket. He stopped, raising his eyebrows a fraction as he looked at her. "I love you."

"I love _you_ ," she said, sliding her hand up his chest. "A lot."

Their eyes were locked, and Walter momentarily forgot what he was doing. Then he cleared his throat. "So, uh..." his fingers located what he was looking for and curled around it, drawing it out of his pocket. "I know people do this in restaurants, or on terraces..." he showed her what was in his hand, and her eyes brightened. He continued. "And I know I'm supposed to...uh, get on my knee, but whenever I'm having a rough day and I need to center myself, or whenever my mind wanders, I...I always end up thinking about nights like this. Just like this. And I wonder how in the world it's possible to be this happy but at the same time..." he shook his head. "It's so simple. I could have nothing else but you and Ralph and I'd still be happier than I thought possible. So..." he glanced down at the box, just to reassure himself that the ring was still there. It was. He looked back up – for the last time – at his girlfriend, and kept using the low, intimate voice that he only used with her. "Will you marry me?"

She shifted her weight again, sitting up and placing a hand on his chest, a warm smile on her face. "You know I will."

He removed his arm from around her to take the ring out of the box, and she held her hand up so he could slide it on her finger. She stared down at it for a few seconds, then lifted her glassy eyes to him. "It's beautiful."

They both leaned toward each other, eyes falling closed as their lips met. He curled his arms around her and kissed her hair when their lips separated and she cuddled up to him. He tipped his head down to see her better. "At least the circumstances are unique enough that no one will think this happened because you're pregnant," he joked.

She laughed, wiping one of her eyes with the back of her hand as she lifted her head to look at him again.

"Now I know," Walter said, tearing his eyes from her to look at the boy, "I know committing to your mom, I'm committing to you, too."

"I told you I'm glad, Walter," Ralph said.

"I know, but..." he motioned to the coffee table in front of the couch. "Sit."

Ralph rose, scooting over to the table and lowering himself on it, his knees nearly touching Walter's. Walter removed his arms from Paige and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and clasping his hands over his knees. Ralph looked confused, but Walter knew he would be. He hadn't known about this part.

"You and I, you know we're very much alike. And I told your mom a long time ago, it was that first year after we met, that I felt a sort of responsibility to you, and I cared about you, and both those, uh, feelings, they've grown, over the years. You know how I feel about you." Ralph nodded. "Well..." Walter reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the box he'd been sitting on, trying to conceal – the biggest surprise of the night given the fact that of the three in the room, only he knew about it – and cracked it open. He saw Ralph's eyes widen as they took in the watch that rested inside.

"I know you don't usually wear one, but Happy helped make this," he told him, "and you know that means it'll last forever. I'm going to love you to the end of time, Ralph. I hope you know that. I'm not going anywhere."

The boy nodded again, biting his lower lip.

"Well then." Walter took the watch out of the box and held it in front of him. "I can't very well ask your mom without asking you...Ralph...will you be my stepson?"

Ralph hesitated, then gave a small smile. "Yes, Walter."

"Here." He grinned at the boy enthusiastically extending his wrist. As he fastened the watch, he felt Paige rubbing his back, and when he glanced at her, she was watching them, a hand to her mouth.

"Though, Walter?" Ralph said, a frown on his face.

"Uh-huh?"

He studied the watch. "I've always found that term antiquated." Looking back at Walter with a crooked smile, Ralph reached for his hand. "How about I'm just your son?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a prompt on Tumblr last week that was "Paige overhears Walter asking Ralph's permission to marry her," and while that oneshot is not an actal offshoot of this fic, (though I had alread planned for Waige to get engaged in this chapter and I was always intending for Walter to have spoken with Ralph beforehand) while I was writing that oneshot, I got a very strong feeling that if Walter were to propose to Paige, he would propose to Ralph, because you don't marry (or seriously date, for that matter) someone with a kid unless you are totally, one hundred percent there for the kid, too. And we know how much Walter loves Ralph, and vice versa.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think what's fueling my writing over the past few days has been the complete lack of ANYTHING for the upcoming episode...we're three days out from Ticker, and as of the last time I looked early this morning, we still haven't even been given promo pictures. Come on, CBS, give us some sugar.

Toby took his feet off the desk and swiveled the chair around. "Paige?"

She looked up from her laptop. "Yeah?"

"I'm really, really happy for you and Walter, and I do hope you know that. You guys are great for each other. But I swear to God, if you do not stop tapping your ring against the mouse, I will amputate your finger. And I can do that, because I'm a doctor."

"Sorry." Paige twisted the ring so the stone was facing up. "I've just never worn anything on this finger before and it feels weird."

"I understand completely," Toby said. "But like I said, I will amputate your finger."

Paige rolled her lips under her teeth sheepishly.

"It's a quality piece, though," Toby said, spinning the chair so he could see Walter and shooting his friend a thumbs up. Walter, who was halfway across the room discussing something with Happy, had missed the exchange between Toby and Paige and looked confused at the gesture.

The front door opened, and Cabe strode in purposefully. Everyone turned to look at him.

"We have a case?" Paige asked.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Cabe said. "Out in the desert. Some former government officials gone rogue are rumoured to be testing some nuclear weapons. Their test site is somewhere in Death Valley."

"That's thousands of square miles," Toby said.

"Which is why we need you guys," Cabe said. "To maximize the efficiency of our search. To figure out exactly _what_ they are testing." He motioned toward the door. "We leave in five, get ready."

Walter and Happy jumped into their perfectly perfected routine of gathering the equipment they needed, both knowing exactly what their role was in making sure everything necessary came along. Paige threw water bottles into her bag.

"Death Valley," Paige said. "There's some neat gift shops around there."

"Maybe one of them has a covering for your mouse," Toby mumbled. Paige reached up as he walked by and plucked the hat off his heat, darting for the stairs.

"Hey!" Toby spun on a dime and ran after her. Paige laughed, taking the stairs two at a time. "You know you'll be trapped once you're up there!" Toby called after her.

"Hey _children_!" Happy shouted. "Get in the damn van, will you?"

Paige and Toby stopped almost mid stride, looking at each other with mutual disappointment that the game was over. "Gotta listen to the Missus," Toby said as they descended the stairs. "I would say take advantage of that power once you have it, but let's be real, you've had it for years."

"So has Happy," Paige pointed out, handing Toby his hat.

He shrugged. "This I do not deny."

* * *

"Okay," Walter said, bending over the workstation to study his laptop. "It seems like the most likely location for the test site is somewhere in this – " he circled a spot on the screen " – area. It should take about eight hours to properly search the area, unfortunately, as an air search won't be effective and using heat sensors will be difficult in this heat."

"Alright," Cabe said, handing Paige her half empty Water bottle when she pointed at it and raised her eyebrows at him. "Kid, you're with me. Happy, with me. Toby, you're a doctor, and it's hot out there, you'll come with us. Paige, Sylvester, stay here, we'll be talking to you through the coms.."

"Is, uh...he going to stay here?" Sylvester asked in a low voice, referring to the gas station owner, who was staring at them through the window as he stood just outside the station, looking as displeased as he verbally stated when Cabe announced they were commandeering the station for government business.

"Hey," Cabe said sternly at the man. "I thought I told you to beat it."

He scowled, but headed for his car.

"Charging all that money for gas," Toby said, gesturing with his head toward the pricing sign outside. "I know he's the only building for miles and miles and it's the basic law of supply and demand, but man, this redefines highway robbery."

"Come on," Cabe said, slinging his bag over his shoulder again. "Happy, Walter, Doc. Let's get started."

* * *

 

"It's way too hot out there for March," Paige said, shaking her head and re-entering the station. She was halfway through her second water bottle, taken from the case they'd left on the countertop.

"Above ninety degrees and still climbing," Sylvester said. "It'll be another hour before we hit the hottest point of the day."

"And they'll still have another six hours of searching." Paige shook her head. "I'm worried about them."

"They took the water with them, and Toby has electrolyte packets on him." Sylvester glanced at the computer screen. "They'll be fine. Hot, but fine."

"Walter hasn't handled prolonged heat exposure well in the past," Paige said, pressing her lips together, her hands on her hips, remembering that time in Texas.

"He already wasn't feeling well that day," Sylvester said. "You know there were other factors, aside from the heat."

She nodded. "I still worry."

"I know. Oh!" He leaned in close to the monitor. "Something just popped up, what is that? I don't..."

Suddenly, Cabe's frantic voice came through the coms. "They know you guys are there! Sylvester, Paige, do you copy?"

"We're here!" Paige said. "What's going on?"

"There is a plane headed your way," Cabe said. "It's got weaponry. You need to get out of there right now."

"How?" Paige asked. "You guys have the van?"

"Paige," came Walter's voice, "I'm going to talk you through hot-wiring that car out behind the station. It's old, so it won't have a locking mechanism on the steering wheel. You'll need to do exactly what I tell you and you need to be quick. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," she ran outside, circling around to the back, her hands shaking as she did as he asked. By the time Sylvester ran outside, the engine was rumbling.

"Good work," Walter said through the com. "Now this plane is less than three minutes from you, so _drive_."

Paige jumped in the driver's seat, Sylvester scooting in on the passenger side. She looked at the gas dial. It was on E, the gas light glaring at her. "Oh God, there's no gas in this tank" she said.

"Hurry! Get out of there!" Came Happy's voice. "Do whatever you can, run if you have to! Just go!"

"Paige!" Walter shouted. " _Run!_ "

"Oh God," she said again, realizing there was a block behind the wheels preventing the car from moving. Jumping out, she pulled the pieces of wood from under the vehicle and flung them, leaping back into the car and slamming the pedal to the floor, letting the car rocket out of the gas station, heading out into the desert.

"Just put as much distance between us and the station as we can," Sylvester said, and Paige wasn't sure if he was talking to her or the car. "We're not going to talk about the irony of a car parked at a gas station being on empty because I'm really very upset about it."

"It's okay," Paige said, "we'll be okay." She wasn't really all that sure, but the fear in her stomach slowly began to dissolve the farther they got from the station. "Walter, how much time do we have?"

There was no answer. Paige lifted a hand to her ear, then frantically looked down. "Oh no," she said. "My com fell out when I got back in the car...and it's been crushed under the gas pedal."

Sylvester looked horrified. "I don't have mine, either. I took it out while packing up the stuff, the urgency in Walter's voice as he walked you through the hot wiring was making me too anxious.  I was going to grab it again, but..."

Paige reached across and squeezed his hand. "We're already three miles from the station, we should be...oh my God!"

Sylvester looked in the rearview mirror and saw what she was seeing – a big cloud of smoke rising up from the direction from which they'd come.

* * *

" _Paige! Paige!_ "

"Easy, Walt," Happy said as he walked in small circles, his hands on his head. "She got the car started, they're probably miles away from the gas station by now."

" _Paige_!" He bellowed, the sweat on his brow more pronounced than it had been before even in the heat. Happy took a step closer to Toby, unsure of how to help. He curled his arms around her.

"Walter," Cabe said, grabbing his arms. "Walter, I'm sure she's fine."

"The car had no gas," he said, his knees buckling, "she's not answering..."

"Easy, kid," Cabe said, lowering Walter to the ground in the shade of the van. "The car started, they probably had enough gas to put a little distance in. You know sometimes things happen to the coms. I'm sure they're both fine."

"Walter, buddy," Toby said as he and Happy dropped, in unison, on their knees next to him. "If that car is going to run out of gas, Paige and Sylvester will need us to find them and bring them home after we find this test site. And we have been given a hint – it's gotta be in the direction that plane came from. It's hot out here and you know we can't use the AC much so _we_ don't run out of gas. Don't put yourself in a bad condition. You can't help her that way."

Walter nodded, drawing in a deep breath and pulling himself up into a sitting position, arms folded over his knees. "I'm sorry," he said.

Cabe patted his back. "Come on, kid. Let's finish this up and go get them." He looked off in the direction of the, likely now completely non - existent, gas station. "It's hot out there. And they probably don't have water."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a bit longer than I'd expected – I was figuring this chapter would be around 2200 words, but it's closer to 3000 instead. I suppose this justifies my decision to break up this storyline into more than one chapter instead of including all of this in the last installment.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to the couple of you (I'd name names but I don't know if that would make you uncomfortable) who have been saying such nice things to me yesterday about this fic, honestly you both have made my day. All my readers rock, though, like I'm so thrilled you're all liking this story! <3

"Well," Sylvester said as the car sputtered to a stop, "at least we got away from the gas station?" He craned his neck around, looking behind him. "I wasn't paying attention to how far we drove.

"We made it..." Paige glanced at the dashboard. "Um...ten miles?" _Always know how far you've gone,_ she told Ralph the first time she let him behind the wheel of your car. _Sometimes you might not have GPS, or you need to know how far behind you something is. When you make a significant turn, or merge, always look at the mileage. Always know where you are._

"We can't walk that far back," Sylvester said. "Those people might even be looking for us, if they somehow realize we weren't in the gas station. Oh God," he said, looking alarmed. "They might be looking for the others, too!" He frowned. "I'd say split up and walk different directions to try and come across somebody, but in this scenario I don't know if we should move."

"Sly, did you ever see _Capricorn One_?" Paige asked.

"No," Sylvester panted, undoing his seatbelt and exiting the car.

She opened her door and scooted out, putting a hand up over her eyes to shield them from the sun as she scanned the horizon. "Good." She turned to him. "So what _do_ we do now?"

"We can't stay in the car, it'll cook us," Sylvester said. "We can sit here, for a little bit, in the shade created by the car, but that'll be gone in an hour. Then..." he glanced around. "We'll have several hours in direct exposure to this heat. Even not exerting ourselves..."

"Wait." Paige reached into her pocket and fished out her phone. "Eh," she said, making a face at the lack of a signal. "It was worth a try." She searched through her bag. "We have two bottles of water. One each." She unscrewed one and took a gulp. "Want some?"

"Nah," Sylvester said. "I'm okay for right now."

"Alright." She settled back into the shade of the car. "Better take advantage of this while we can."

Sylvester lowered himself next to her. "Do you feel okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Really. I mean it's hot, but I feel good. If we were hanging out at the beach or on the roof or something I wouldn't be concerned at all. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm good," he said quickly, nodding. "You sure you're okay?"

"Oh yeah," she said. "I'm fine." She raised an eyebrow at him. He was sweating, and he looked a little paler than normal. "Sly, do you want some water?"

"No."

Paige shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She supposed he was being smart. They only had one bottle each, to potentially last them the entire afternoon. That wasn't enough to be ideal. It was probably a good idea to save most of it for when the shade was gone, and he'd drank considerably less than she had earlier in the day. She tucked her water bottle back into the bag, deciding to not drink again until the sun was bearing down on them.

* * *

"Are we sure this isn't just some brilliant hoax?" Toby grumbled. "And by brilliant, I mean congratulations, guys, you really wasted our time." He began to clap sarcastically.

"If it was a hoax," Happy said, "they wouldn't have blown up the gas station."

"Unless..." Walter frowned. "Maybe they were trying to get us out here so we wouldn't be somewhere else?"

"We were planning to be doing security at that university speech today," Happy said, "in case anyone was smuggling the new technology out. But we aren't there because..."

"Because this took priority," Cabe said. "Dammit. I gotta make a call."

"Do you think that's what it is, Walt?" Happy said. "Or do you just want to find a way to blame yourself for Paige and Sly being out there?"

"I don't know what I think it is," he said. "I just..."

"You keep thinking about them," Toby said. "I know, man. Us too."

"It's not a hoax!"

The three of them jumped as Cabe jogged back to them. "The military team found something. Three miles southwest of here. Let's go wrap this up and find our people."

* * *

"Sylvester," Paige said. "We've been sitting here for three hours. You need to drink."

"No," he said. "I'm okay."

"Well," she said, "let me see my bottle. I've held out long enough."

"Sure."

She took the bottle and had it pressed to her lips before she realized. "Sly, this one's yours. Mine has some gone."

He shrugged. "You can have it, I guess. You know how I am about germs."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sly."

"Seriously," he said, "I'm fine. You need it more than I do anyway."

"Not really. I had almost three bottles back at the gas station. You haven't had anything to drink all day. And you're sweating more than I am."

"You're pregnant," he said.

"Babies are good at taking what they need," she said. "If I feel fine, the baby feels fine. You don't look fine, Sly. You need water, you know that."

"We have limited resources," Sylvester said. "I don't want it. You drink it. Drink it all."

Paige knew what he was doing and she didn't like it. "Sly, no."

"Walter would give up his share for you," Sylvester said. "He _has_ given up his share for you. I'm giving up my share for my child. Drink," he said, looking alarmed when Paige frowned, "please drink. It's my water, I should get to decide what happens to it. Please, Paige. The baby needs water." He sounded frantic and tired, and his voice lacked substance but she suspected he was closer to bursting into tears and begging her to take the water. She bet by the way he kept shifting his weight that his muscles were cramping. _He_ needed water. Badly.

She knew all about self-sacrificing for a child. She knew doing anything that wasn't in your kid's best interest was a million times easier said than done. But what she also knew was it was often debatable, what was in the child's best interests.

She'd been criticized in the past, for taking a job with Scorpion. It's too dangerous, people said, it's irresponsible to work for them, you're a single mother. The same people spoke up disapprovingly when she risked her life for another team member. Maybe you love Walter, they said, but how can you not put Ralph first? How can you risk yourself to save him when it might mean leaving your son without his mother?

She hated when people questioned her devotion to her son and she didn't listen to them. With Scorpion, she could afford a reliable car. With Scorpion, her son had health insurance. With Scorpion, her son had people who understood him. And Ralph needed Walter alive every bit as much as she did.

"Sylvester," Paige said carefully, "what your baby needs is her father. She's here because you wanted her so much. You don't want to die out here. You don't want her to grow up without you."

"She," Sylvester said, "her. It could be a girl." He looked suddenly emotional, as if that somehow hadn't crossed his mind before.

"Yes," she said, "it could be a girl. It could be a boy. Can you imagine that, Sly? You're going to have a son, or maybe a daughter." She shifted her weight, catching Sylvester's face between her hands. "Don't orphan your child, Sly. Drink."

His eyes were half closed. _How long have we been arguing this? He already looks so much weaker._ "You drink," he said weakly. "Please drink."

"Okay." She placed the bottle against her lips and tipped her head back, internally grateful for the relief the liquid provided. "Your turn."

He shook his head, and she pushed his chin up, moving his head to an angle where she could pour a little water through his lips. She remembered when she was little, bottle feeding kittens. _Stroke their throat,_ her father had told her, _it encourages them to swallow._ She tried the tactic on Sylvester. He swallowed. She didn't know if she'd helped or not, but it didn't really matter. He had a little water down him. It was better than nothing.

She ran her hands through his hair, pushing it back from his sweaty forehead. His skin was hot, the sun was beating down on them as if it was in cahoots with the plane that had shot up the gas station. She tipped his head again and got a little more water down him, this time he was too weak to really protest. Her stomach was turning in knots; he was in bad shape, going from being able to fake a fairly chipper exterior to being barely conscious in a matter of minutes. "Sly, I'm gonna lay you down, okay?" she said, easing him to the new position next to the car. "There you go."

She carefully poured some of the remaining water over his face, then his chest, lifting his arms away from his sides to decrease heat at his arm pits. She bit her lip as she worked, having no idea at all if she was doing anything right.

_Fan him._

She pulled off her shirt, opening the car door and closing it again, leaving one end of the shirt stuck in it. She twisted it to the side, so there was some shade over Sly's face.

"Are you drinking the water?" He mumbled.

"Yes," she said. "I drank a lot. I feel very good. How do you feel? Feel like staying with me, here?"

"Mmmmm," he mumbled.

She began to move her arms, letting the shirt fan him. But she only lasted a couple of minutes, the heat now coming down on her bare skin drained her of her energy. She dropped to her knees by Sylvester, yanking on the shirt until it came out of the door. She put it back on, unable to bear the heat on her skin, and she lay down next to him, the remaining half bottle of water in between them. She slid a hand under Sylvester's head, tipping it upward so she could put more water into his mouth without him choking. He swallowed – and this time she knew it was of his own accord. She rewarded him by taking another drink herself.

"Here, Sly," she whispered, taking his hand. She placed it against her stomach, hating having hot skin against her own but feeling like this was her only chance to keep him conscious. "The baby's fine. Just stay with me. Stay with _us_."

She didn't know how long she'd been talking to him when she heard a buzzing noise in her ears, and alarm shot through her. Fanning Sylvester had taken a lot out of her, and she was beginning to feel tired, unaware. _This is how it'll end,_ she thought. _They'll find us out here, dehydrated and burned._ Thoughts of Walter and Ralph consumed her, they were everywhere, she'd give anything to be able to see them again, even if she was going to die, _just let me hold them one more time. Or let them hold me._ She always liked being the one to gather one of her boys into her arms, but right now, with the way she was feeling, she wanted to be the one that was gathered.

The buzzing grew louder, and she felt euphoric when she realized it wasn't an effect of dehydration. She sat up, looking at the vehicle that was approaching, her euphoria rapidly turning to alarm. What if they weren't friendly? Why had she been so presumptuous? Was this the poor decision making skills that accompanied the dangerous stages of heat exposure?

"Paige! Sylvester!"

The relief she felt at Cabe's voice reminded her of when she was little and her father had returned from a long business trip. Tears filled her eyes as Cabe and Happy jumped out of the truck.

"Not good," Happy said as she fell down beside Sly. "Dammit, why didn't we send Walt and the doc in this direction?"

"Couldn't have known. We'll be back to civilization in a half hour," Cabe said, "and we'll crank the AC on the way back, now let's get them loaded."

"I can get up," Paige said, quickly rising to her feet. A half second later, she was in Happy's arms, blinking in surprise at her sudden disorientation, the back of her head resting against the mechanic's chest.

"Easy there, Dineen," Happy said, straightening her up. "You haven't been drinking enough. Take it easy."

"There's water in the truck," Cabe said, "Paige might be fine once we cool her down. Happy, help me move Sylvester."

Paige managed to crawl into the back seat of the truck, feeling dizzy. She reached for the case of water, and her hands didn't close around anything. She leaned forward slightly and located it, glad she wasn't hallucinating.

The water was cold. Actually, it probably wasn't, she realized, but it felt that way, next to the stuff she had been rationing over the past few hours. Sitting inside the still running vehicle, the air conditioning running, Paige immediately began to feel better. Tired, but better. She watched as Cabe and Happy carried Sylvester to the truck, loading him in the back with her.

He was barely conscious. "He's probably right at one hundred and four degrees," Cabe said. "That's the danger zone. Brain damage, organ damage, we won't know until we get him to a hospital."

Paige grabbed Sylvester's hand again, pressing it against her stomach. Happy, with barely enough room to move in the tiny space the three of them were sharing, poured out an entire water bottle onto rags and lay one over his forehead, the others she wrung out over him.

"I can't get him reclined any more than this," she said to Cabe. "There's not enough room back here."

"It'll have to do," Cabe said, spinning the truck around and pressing the pedal to the floor.

* * *

By the time Walter and Toby got back to the meeting site, an ambulance was rocketing out of the parking lot, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Walter felt his heart jump up into his throat. For all his shouting for Paige, for all his chest was aching from missing her head resting there, his fear for Sylvester was nearly paralyzing. He still was not over losing his sister, and from what Happy had barked at him through the coms, his brother could be dying. His brother could be orphaning the daughter her so desperately wanted to be able to love.

"Tell us something!" He shouted as they jumped from the car. He grabbed the person nearest to him. "Paige Dineen and Sylvester Dodd, where are they?"

"The man's in that," he said, motioning toward the disappearing ambulance. "The woman's...she's somewhere over there. She's fine, they got some water down her, and they said her temperature is almost back to normal. I don't know about the guy, though."

"Happy!" Toby spotted his wife in the small crowd and jogged toward her.

Walter scanned the people milling around, all of them police, medical, or military. Then a flash of bright red caught his eye, and he stared at her several seconds before moving, to be sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

She was sitting in the bed of an off road vehicle, her legs dangling off the back. A water bottle was beside her, and someone stood just adjacent, holding up an umbrella to keep her out of the sun.

Walter ran forward. " _Paige._ "

He closed the final yards between them and reached for her. She separated her knees so he could get closer, pulling her body against him, feeling the back of the truck pressing into his legs. He curled a hand around her head, pressing his lips to her hair. "Oh God."

He could tell by the way she rested against him, not an active participant in the embrace, that she was weak. Weak from the sun, maybe, but alive, alert, and not as hot as he feared. He wanted to keep holding her, but the last thing she needed was more body heat. He held her at arm's length, then slid his hands from her shoulders down her arms, finding her sweaty hands and curling his around them. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Sylvester..."

There were tears in her eyes, and Walter's alarm grew again. "They said he was in the ambulance. But they didn't know much. What's...?"

Her lips pressed together, hard, before she spoke again. "He wouldn't drink water. He told me to have his...for the baby." She put a hand up over her face as it twisted. "I could barely get him to take anything." Her voice grew high pitched as she struggled to keep talking without crying. " _And now he might have brain damage!_ "

The tears were running down her face, but Walter knew telling her that she wasn't helping her hydration by crying wouldn't do any good. He knew – he'd been forced to learn – that sometimes crying couldn't be helped.

He ran a finger up her cheek, catching one of the tears. She closed her eyes, her voice quiet. "Hold me, Walter."

"I don't think my body against yours is what you need right now, you're still a little too..."

She shook her head tiredly. "I don't care."

He nodded, understanding. "Okay." Hopping up onto the surface, he drew Paige against him, pulling her legs across his lap, sliding his arms around her, and allowing her head to fill the void on his chest that he'd felt so strongly when he didn't know where she was.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to all the wonderful messages and reviews you guys have been sending me. In all honesty I was terrified to start this fic, despite the amount of people posting/tweeting about how much they'd like something like this to happen, and the way it's sort of taking off and people are enjoying it so much just thrills me.

"You need any more of this, Dineen?"

Paige lifted her head from where it was propped up on her hand and smiled at Happy. "Are you trying to make me pee every ten minutes?"

"Frequent urination doesn't mean you're not dehydrated," Happy reminded her. "Dark colored urine is also a sign that your body isn't getting enough water."

Paige assured Happy she was fine, but took the bottle anyway. Even though she wasn't dehydrated anymore, she was still craving the water, still thinking it tasted better than it ever had before. "How long have we been waiting?"

"We've been here almost an hour," Toby said. "You'd think they'd decide to _come out and let us know how our friend is doing!_ " He spoke the second half of his sentence in a loud voice, his hands cupped around his mouth.

" _Toby_ ," Happy hissed.

"Well, they're taking forever," Walter said.

Happy's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, why are we not siding with me, O'Brien?"

Paige smirked when Walter glanced at her, as if she could tell him whether or not to be pleased at Toby's outburst.

"Violet Reese?"

A girl rose from a seat across the waiting room, wincing slightly, and then followed the nurse who had called her. Happy frowned.

"Excuse me," another nurse said, walking up to the group and immediately gaining all of their attention, "you all came in with Sylvester Dodd?"

"Uh huh," Toby said. "And it's about time, too."

The nurse didn't seem fazed at Toby's impatient remark. "Mr. Dodd is suffering from dehydration and sunburn. We got his temperature down from 104 degrees to 100, then his core temperature spiked up to 102 again. It's too soon to tell if there will be any lasting damage, but the good news is his organs seem to be responding to what we're doing."

The relief that rushed through Paige seemed to blend right into the conversation that was happening several feet behind them. "Do you have a minute to look at the patient in six?" Came a voice, almost too quiet for Paige to hear.

"Yeah," came another voice, just as muffled in the chatter of the room, "it's so weird to not be super busy. Code Black from the bus accident yesterday and today it's..." she trailed off. "I was going to say practically dead."

Paige cleared her throat and refocused back on what the nurse was saying, but she seemed to have finished with them and was walking away. She remembered when she was pregnant with Ralph and had been relieved that the lack of ability to focus _wasn't_ something afflicting her, and wondered if it would be different this time around.

"Excuse me," Paige said, turning around and locating a nurse studying a clipboard near the hallway, "but I couldn't help but overhear that you guys aren't very busy today."

"For once in our lives," she said with a small smile.

"Okay, well, I was actually out in the desert with Mr. Dodd," she said. "And I bounced right back once I got into a cooler place and had some water."

"Did you want someone to look at you just to be sure?"

"Yes, please," she said. "Ordinarily I'd say I'm fine, but I'm a surrogate for Mr. Dodd and his wife and we just found out last week that the in vitro worked."

She stopped. "No one told us you were pregnant." She motioned to Paige, "come this way."

* * *

Considering she was still being examined when Happy and Toby were allowed in to see Sylvester, his first question upon seeing her and Walter wasn't surprising.

"The baby is okay?" Sylvester asked, the worry evident in his eyes.

"Yes," Paige said. "Everything is fine.

"You were willing to die for your child," Paige said. "You scared us. But it's admirable." She ran her hand along Sylvester's face affectionately.

"When I did that," Walter quipped, "she hit me."

"And we talked about why," Paige said, turning her head toward Walter and raising her eyebrows in warning. He folded his hands and stepped back into the corner of the room.

"Sly," she said, curling her fingers around his, "seriously, everything is okay. You just need to focus on feeling better."

"Doctor says I'ill be sensitive to heat for a while," he said. "My organs are weak but they're responding. They gave me a muscle relaxer and they want to keep me for a day or two. But I didn't have any seizures."

His eyes dulled, and Paige bit her lip. She squeezed his hand. "Want me to go to the beach and tell Megan that you're okay?"

"I'd rather she not know I was in danger."

He raised his eyebrows at her. It was a question, and one that she understood. "I'm not going to tell Ralph everything," she said. "They didn't have to hospitalize me so there's no point in worrying him. He will probably want to come see you, though."

"I'd love to see him." Sylvester smiled. "And you're sure the baby is okay?"

"I would say the baby is enjoying being an embryo," Paige said, "but they can't feel enjoyment until month five, or something like that. Not until the brain is developed."

"Yep." Sylvester smiled.

"You look tired," she said, "you want us to leave you alone? Or bring you anything tomorrow?" She pointed at the TV in his room. "We can get something hooked up to that."

She was expecting him to ask for the Super Fun Guy movie, so her eyebrows shot up in surprise when he spoke. "Can you bring The Little Mermaid?"

"Like...like the Disney movie?"

"Megan was nine when it came out," he said. "And she told me that she loved how Ariel left the water for the magical sounding place up on the sand. And with her little brother always talking about astronomy and rockets, she started to get excited about the vast unknown that we only knew a little bit about, that scared us and that we only had some objects from to study – outer space. Sometimes..." he paused to catch his breath, "sometimes I hate the notion that she's constantly getting farther and farther away from me, and I watch that movie and realize that the location of her ashes doesn't mean I've lost her any more or any less. She's among those stars and she would be so happy if she knew."

Paige just stared at him, her emotions running on high. She pressed her lips together and swallowed as she glanced at Walter. _How has Megan been gone for years, and we never knew this?_ She looked back at her friend and nodded. "Yeah Sly. I'll bring the DVD for you. See you tomorrow."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Paige asked, letting her book lay across her stomach.

He turned to look at her. "Yes. Why?"

"Well for starters," she said, "you haven't scrolled on that thing in like fifteen minutes. I know you, that means you're distracted."

"I might point out that if you've spent the last fifteen minutes looking at whether or not I'm scrolling instead of reading your book, you might be the distracted one."

"Walter," she said warningly.

He adjusted the pillow behind him. "I didn't know that about her."

"Megan and The Little Mermaid?"

He nodded. "I thought we knew everything about each other."

"You never kept anything from her?"

He shook his head.

"Not once?"

"Nothing important." He glanced down at where her hand rested on top of the blankets. "I actually...uh..." he frowned. "I told her about my feelings for you, before..."

"Before she died," Paige finished.

His eyes widened. "No. Well, yes, but before the end. She knew before you did."

"She _did_?"

"We saw each other a couple of times, over that summer, when I was in the hospital and too ashamed to see all of you. With you...I was conflicted. I didn't want to see you, because I was weak, and I felt like an _idiot_ for getting myself into that accident _which_ I maintain was the animal's fault..." he stopped, clearing his throat and dropping his eyes. "But anyway. As much as I didn't want to see you, I missed you. I've told you about how Toby had figured out that I spent more time talking to you than anyone else at work, and I didn't realize just how much I enjoyed talking to you...about completely mundane things, even...until I wasn't seeing you. And, as Megan pointed out to me...since I wasn't talking _to_ you, I started talking _about_ you. And I think she knew...I think she knew well before that summer. But she encouraged me, challenged me, even, to admit it. Out loud. And the first time I did, I admitted it to her." He reinstated the eye contact.

"I remember," she said, rolling onto her side, "the way you looked at me when you came back to the garage. How you trailed off, how you couldn't speak for a moment. Later I attributed it to the fact your brain wasn't fully recovered yet, but at the time all I could wonder was if it meant you liked me too."

He smiled. _Heart eyes,_ Toby would call the way he was looking at her now.

"At that time," he said, "when Megan was encouraging me to admit to my feelings, I didn't have any idea that you felt the same way. It was so difficult to allow myself to say it out loud. And she knew that. She knew I shared everything with her. She was the only one, for a long time, that would listen, and even more so the only one who could understand."

Paige slid her hand into his. "You think maybe that's why she didn't tell you? She knew how much you needed her to understand you – and she loved you so much she loved being that person for you – that she probably never thought to share with you what contributed to her love of the stars?"

"She told Sylvester," Walter said. "I'm not jealous," he added quickly. "I just...I wish I hadn't made her feel like she couldn't share with me."

"People share things with their friends they don't share with their partner," she said, "and people share things with their partners that they don't share with their friends. Sometimes it's on purpose, sometimes it's not. I doubt she'd have actively kept something like that from you."

He nodded, looking down at their hands. "I suppose you're right." His voice fell to a barely audible whisper. "I still wish I'd known."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Happy/Toby next chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed "Ticker." It's episodes like that that make me happy that the show always makes sure the little kid characters are okay because it helped calm my nerves during those intense parts! I'll have to include Olivia in this fic now. Also, shoutout to nicoledbishop for writing this fic's 100th review on FF.net!
> 
> Alright, here's some Quintis.

It was _too_ quiet in the Quinn-Curtis household.

Toby was used to short periods of quiet, when his wife was out, or taking a nap, or doing something on her laptop. But usually he did his reading to the sound of her working one something in the background, some adaptation of a machine, some invention, something for Ralph or Sylvester or Maya's little girl. Although she didn't officially have the title yet, Happy was definitely a mom.

But tonight, there was no quiet, pleasant background noise. Tonight, the silence was uncomfortably loud.

Toby put a napkin in his place in the book and looked over his shoulder. She was sitting in the living area, legs stretched out, the hypotenuse segment of the right triangle formed between them, the floor, and the couch. Her hands were resting on her stomach, her eyes were open but staring out at nothing.

She must have sensed him looking at her, because her eyes shifted and focused. He raised his eyebrows in question, and it only took her a moment or two to sit up and fold her hands.

"Okay," Happy said, "we need to talk about something."

"Is it about the ticket in my sock drawer? It's five years old. You can check the date."

She frowned. "What? No." Walking over to the table, she pulled out a chair, spinning it around and sitting down, her arms resting on the back as she looked at her husband. "When we were in the ER for Sly last week, I saw a girl there. I know I didn't get a good look in the bushes that Monday, but I'm almost certain the person watching us was her. And when we were there yesterday..."

"You saw her again?" Toby furrowed his brow. "You didn't tell me that."

"No," Happy said. "I didn't see her again. But I still felt like she was there, watching us."

"Okay, Hap," Toby shifted his weight, "I'm not saying you're mistaken here, but you realize that the emergency room that Sly was in was nearly five hours from where we have Mountain Mondays?"

"Toby..."

"Hey, sorry, but I'm going to call them that. It's fun, it's alliterative."

" _Toby_." Happy reached out and took his hands.

Toby was startled. He'd been expecting her to lean forward and smack him. He applied pressure to her hands, lowering his head and looking into her eyes. "Okay, go ahead."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "I know what I saw. We were in both places, on the mountain on Monday and then in that ER at the end of the week. I only saw her for a second that first time, but you know that I don't forget. It was the same girl. And I think she's in some sort of trouble."

"So what do you want to do?" Toby said. "I could get my buddy Scott, he does composite sketches, you could tell him what she looks like and then we could run facial recognition for..."

"Scott is not your buddy."

"Potato, pot-ah-to." Toby cocked his head side to side for emphasis.

"I don't want to do that," she said. "I want to first go back to the mountain on Monday and keep an eye out. A close eye, and see if she'll talk to us."

"Do you want to go today?" Toby asked. "Maybe she spends most of her time there."

Happy shook her head. "I don't think so. If she was hours away, she has access to transportation. She probably has a routine. I don't think she'd be there if we went today, and if she is, if she does somehow spend most of her time up there, she'll know ours. She'll know we only go on Mondays. If we show up on a different day, she might get suspicious and not want to talk to us."

Toby's heart hurt, because he knew that all this talk of distrust was Happy reading from the book she could have written herself. But he couldn't argue with her logic – for the same reason. He squeezed her hands again. "Okay."

"We were talking about Ralph and how what we might flag as a sign of something major is likely to just be typical teenager issues," she said, "I don't want to get other people involved until we know for sure that this girl is in trouble." Her eyes searched his face. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," he said encouragingly, nodding, rubbing his thumbs against her skin.

"This is just really bothering me."

Now Toby leaned forward, kissing her forehead, careful to not let the chair shoot out from under him – that had been an embarrassing Fourth of July picnic. Right in the pie. "We'll figure it out. At the very least, it'll ease your mind."


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm adjusting a little bit of where I put a few scenes due to recent casting announcements on the show that I want to try to keep in line with, so apologies for going a couple days without updates. However, updates may be every 3-4 days now, as opposed to every day, because we're getting episodes more regularly and because I have a Mentalist WIP that I need to get back to and then two other WIPs for two other fandoms that I need to give love at some point as well, and I've kinda been ignoring both of them for months now. Whoops. But anyway, updates will still be regular, just a little less frequent, on this fic.

Paige bumped her hip against Walter's as she dropped the newly folded pants over the back of the couch. "I think Ralph is experiencing a bit of trouble in the crush department."

"Oh?" Walter looked up from the iron.

"Has he said anything to you?"

"No," he said, cocking his head. "What makes you think that?"

" _Hey Mom?"_

" _Yeah, honey?"_

_Ralph sat down across from her, putting his books on the chair next to him. "Scientists have to constantly be evaluating their theories and figuring out which ones are likely to pan out and which ones are not. How do you do that with people? With relationships?"_

_Paige cocked her head, trying to figure out if he'd be forthcoming if she asked him for more information. "You mean, how do you know when you've gotten all you can out of a relationship? Or how do you know what relationships are worth the hard times? Or how do you know when something is worth pursuing?"_

_Ralph frowned. "Yes?"_

" _Okay." She leaned forward. "Do you remember last year, when we were working all the time, and we didn't have time to relax and spend time together, but we also didn't have the kind of jobs that made us remember how lucky we were to have each other? We had that several month stretch where no one was in danger, no children were saved and no couples were reunited. We just had the stress, the constant work, the kind of work that paid, but wasn't fulfilling."_

_Ralph nodded._

" _And you remember how it affected Walter and I, then. We fought. We spent sixteen consecutive nights with me here and him at the garage because we didn't want to go home to each other."_

_Ralph looked surprised that she was bringing up those memories. He had to have remembered how little, stupid things that would have caused an eye roll turned into shouting and slamming of doors. How the heart eyes had vanished and the smiles had withered. Paige knew that he hadn't liked that month. She'd overheard him on the phone with Owen a couple weeks in, saying he was scared, and how much it was going to hurt if Paige and Walter's relationship ended._

_But Paige had learned from her years with Drew that love wasn't just a feeling. There would always be times where that feeling would wane, or would disappear altogether. And sometimes it was better, healthier, to walk away. Sometimes, as it was with Drew, a party thought that the relationship wasn't worth the effort of maintaining it. That the good times weren't worth fighting for in the bad ones._

_But through all the fights, through all the nights when they were alone and didn't miss having the other one next to them, neither Paige nor Walter, to themselves, to each other, or to anyone else, had wondered if that might be the end. They were lashing out at each other because they were stressed and lashing out at acquaintances would have alienated them. They were sleeping apart because they needed a break from everyone, not just each other, but that wasn't all.  They were in an adjustment period._

_They were learning to love each other without the daily threat of death hanging over them. They were learning to love each other in a world where Scorpion wasn't Scorpion._

_She smiled at her son. "Love is a feeling, Ralph. But even a roller coaster junkie doesn't live with the constant thrill of that first big drop. A horseback rider isn't always sailing over a picnic table or curving around a barrel. Even the hardest working, most passionate chefs aren't cooking all the time. When you love someone, you aren't going to be constantly caught up in the moment. You have to make the choice to keep loving them between all that. Walter and I started dating because of our feelings. We're where we are today because of our choice to keep loving each other even when it isn't easy."_

"So you think he has feelings for someone and doesn't think they feel the same way?"

She shrugged. "Maybe, I mean, he definitely wanted to know how to tell when to take that risk and when to not. And I reminded him about you and me, and how we told each other about our feelings. I suggested that he try that, if he felt comfortable."

"It is really hard when you have no idea how the other person feels," Walter said, handing her the next shirt. "And it's difficult for high IQs to read body language or more subtle cues."

"I hope he'll open up to me more," she said, "but..."

"I'll talk to him." He shut off the iron and folded down the board, and stopped just behind her to kiss the side of her neck. "Okay?"

"Thanks," she said, putting the shirt on the hangar and following him down the hall. She scooted by him to get into their room, where the mere sight of the bed made her yawn. _Damn progesterone._

She hung the clothes up slowly, and was halfway back down the hall before Walter appeared, taking her shoulders and turning around. "Go take a nap."

"We have to go to work."

"I have to go to work. The presentation isn't until Monday, you don't need to be there early." He was walking her back toward their room, stopping at the door. "Sleep an hour or two, and then we'll see you, okay?"

She turned back around, hugging him. "Kay."

* * *

 

Paige swore that bed hadn't felt so good since the night last year when Walter had returned to it.


	22. Chapter 22

Paige frowned.

She was less than two months pregnant; she couldn't possibly be showing yet, but for some reason she just couldn't get her dress done up in the back. "Happy," she called to the other woman, "can you give me a hand?"

"If you give me a new neck," she said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Sore from last night?"

"I can't believe Toby just put the phone down when I walked in." She shook her head, walking around behind Paige to tug at her zipper. "He needs to hang up if I start giving him the bedroom eyes, not 'one sec guys, Happy sounds like she's on her way in' and forgetting he had you on the line."

Paige wrinkled her nose, remembering the audio show she and Walter had been subjected to when the phone fell between the couch cushions and switched to speaker. "Yeah, that was...why didn't he hang up the phone?"

"Well I guess he thought I was just gonna..." Happy stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing. "Wait...why didn't _you_ hang up the phone?"

"Knock knock."

Both women turned to see Toby standing in the door. He sauntered into the room, his eyebrows raised. "Well well _well_ ," he said. "Is it hot in here, or is it you two ladies?"

Paige and Happy looked at each other, both of them grinning and rolling their eyes.

"Seriously," Toby said. "These rich benefactor people, they're all alike. They see us in there all sophisticated, they'll want to hire us. Makes us more respectable, you know."

"We'll have to be, to get Mr. Hotshot Compeau to agree to let us take the job given he doesn't like who we've associated with in the past."

Toby shrugged. "He doesn't need to know."

"Why do I feel like we're in an episode of Firefly?" Paige mumbled.

"Ready to go?" Walter asked, appearing in the door. He looked at the women and nodded. "Good job."

She gave a little giggle. In all the years she'd known him, he'd made _some_ progress in how he told people he liked how they looked, from his _yes_ the first time he saw her in a dress to saying she _did look nice_ dressed as Zany Zoe.

He walked around them to the dresser, grabbing the recording device and slipping it into his pocket. Then Paige felt his hands on her waist and his breath on the back of her neck as he whispered, _"so, do I get to take this off you later?"_

She shivered. He'd made more progress than she gave him credit for.

"Okay, O'Brien," Toby said, "let's keep the bedroom talk out of..."

"The phone?" Walter asked pointedly.

Happy and Toby cleared their throats awkwardly.

"Come on guys!" Came Cabe's voice from downstairs. "Let's roll!"

* * *

Paige sipped her water. She didn't mind that she couldn't drink, her sense of smell had gotten stronger over the past week or two and she knew the scent of alcohol would probably make her sick.

The mechanic eased down into the chair next to her, pushing the dish toward the center of the table so she could rest her hands on the surface. "So how are you feeling?" Happy asked, still scanning the room.

"Well, I think there are better sweet talkers than Walter out there," Paige said, "but I know that Compeau's interest in hiring the team is solely because he's the leader so I suppose even if he trips up a little bit Compeau will still be willing...and you were talking about the pregnancy."

Happy's eyes had a glint of amusement as she nodded.

"I'm very tired," she said. "All the time. I know after the first trimester I will probably be getting my normal energy levels back, but it's _so_ hard right now."

"I don't doubt it," Happy said. "Any other symptoms? Nausea hitting you?"

She shook her head. "Surprisingly, no, not really. Not enough for me to really classify it as morning sickness. But then again I do keep crackers by the side of the bed, and I eat them before I get up. So that's probably helping."

"Cravings yet?"

"Oh god," she said, giving a little laugh. "Same ones as last time. The one way Drew and Walter are similar is the looks they gave me when I first told them what I wanted."

"Your pregnancy with Ralph wasn't difficult, right?"

"Not really. I mean, I felt sick at the start, my back hurt, I went through periods of having uncontrollable energy to wanting to sleep for a week, and I was scared as _hell_ , but all in all it wasn't bad. I kinda liked it. Except the thirty hour labor," she added. "I'll take anything this pregnancy can throw at me except that." She smiled at Happy. "I was going to make a joke about you being lucky you don't have to do that part, but in all honesty, Happy, I admire you so much. Adopting, taking a kid someone else wasn't able to keep, or gave up on, and giving them a chance to have a family?" She shook her head.

"It's just like what Walter did with Team Scorpion," Happy said. "What you're doing is admirable too, you know. And honestly, despite my genius, it's kind of blowing my mind. Megan's been gone for years and she and Sly have a kid that isn't even born yet. It's almost like she's alive again." Happy was silent for a moment. "I know we all understand that biology isn't everything. We're all family. Walter is Ralph's dad. Growing up, I never put much stock in blood relationships. But the idea that the baby you're carrying is biologically both Megan and Sly's?" She shook her head. "That's pretty cool."

Paige smiled, glancing across the room at Walter. Compeau had a hand on his shoulder. Walter gestured at the man's cufflinks and made some remark that caused Compeau to throw his head back in laughter.

"Well," Happy said, "they seem pretty buddy buddy. Looks like we have ourselves the hacking job." She glanced at Paige. "How is he doing with this whole thing?"

"He's fine," Paige said. "It's kinda adorable, actually," she said, turning slightly pink. "He's giving me looks he hasn't given me before. And he's being super attentive."

"He's always been that way with you."

"Yeah, but you know, it's different. I know you hear those stories about fathers seeing their girlfriends and wives differently once they're pregnant or have a baby, and they talk about how it's like it opened up this new capacity for love, but..." Paige rested a hand against her still flat stomach. "This _isn't_ our child."

"Part of why they feel that way is amazement of what the human body is capable of," Happy said. "Most people aren't aware of that on the day to day. It doesn't matter that the baby isn't yours and Walters. You're still pregnant, and it's with a baby that means the world to him.  On that level, it doesn't matter that you two aren't the parents."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm kinda cheating with throwing these mentions of cases and having them be on cases without providing a lot of details. But a hard thing about writing a fic that takes place over a year is obviously it's expected that they'll be working a lot, but I find it so difficult to come up with that kind of thing.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update is short – this week has kicked my butt. But I had to give Heidi SOMETHING to read this weekend so here's the first bit of what's next. There's going to be some more significant story progression coming in the next couple chapters, and of course each chapter has groundwork for something. Enjoy!

"Mom, can I go to a sleepover at Owen's tonight?"

"Are his parents going to be there?"

Ralph folded his arms. "Mom. It's _Owen_. Of course his parents are going to be there."

"Who else is going?" Paige folded her own arms. "Ralph, I'm your mother, you know I'm going to ask."

Ralph sighed. "Me, Atticus, Olivia, Haaziq, Sloan, and Carla."

Paige ran through the names in her head. "Who is Carla?"

"Sloan's sister."

 _Right._ "Okay," she said, nodding. "You can go. Sly and I have a prenatal appointment today in the afternoon, were you going to go to Owen's from school?"

"Yeah. He was going to drive Haaziq and I. I was thinking about getting a ride to the garage first, but if you and Sly will be gone...plus Happy told me she and Toby would be spending the day in the mountains. So I'll just go straight to Owen's."

"Alright." She put a hand around him, onto his back, and drew him close enough for her to kiss his forehead. "Have fun."

* * *

Sylvester Dodd's memory was nearly incomparable, so Paige found herself hiding her amused smile at his ferocious scribbling in a notebook at the appointment. Everything the doctor said, hell, everything _Paige_ said, it went down in the notebook. She was surprised he didn't bring his laptop.

"I'm just so excited," he said as they left. "Like, like you have no idea, okay, you probably do have an idea, but like, I'm going to be a dad, the baby is Megan's, I know we both knew this already but it just seems so real and..."

" _Sly_." Paige stopped walking and used a hand to halt Sylvester. She giggled. "Take a couple breaths."

He grinned, seeming to realize that he was panting slightly. "I'm just so excited."

"It's almost ninety degrees out today and you know you're heat sensitive now. You can ramble in the car once I have the air on."

"Paige Dineen, did you just 'mom' me?"

She was going to laugh his light hearted comment off, then realized that _was_ her mom voice. "Maybe the hormones are going to make me mom all of you...more than usual," she added when she saw Sylvester raise his eyebrows.

She slid into the car. "Do you want to go out for lunch?"

"Should we call Walter?"

"Nah," she said, starting the engine. "You and I should hang out. Plus, he and Cabe are working on how to handle Compeau."

"Are you sure?" Sylvester asked. "I mean...it might be weird."

"Sly," she said with a laugh, "we've had meals together before."

"Yeah but you're...and I'm...and Walter..."

She stopped at a red light. "I'm pregnant, you're the father, Walter's my fiancé. Yeah, the whole thing might be a little uncommon, but it's not weird."

"I guess all this just seems too good to be true, considering," he said, giving her a little smile. "My brain is programmed to always search for what could go wrong and I guess...I guess being so excited just now caused that part of it to go into overdrive."

A car beeped. Paige jumped, realizing the light was green. Pulling out into traffic, she reached over and squeezed Sylvester's wrist. "Walter will be fine."

"Even next month?"

"What's next month?"

"Megan's birthday."

Paige fell silent. She knew that – Walter had remarked once how the two most important women in his life shared a birth month. What she didn't know was how he would handle her birthday this year. Usually, they just went and got the greasy food she had liked to eat, letting Sylvester go to the beach by himself. She hadn't considered that this year might be different, but things were different this year. So much would be different now.

And Walter still grieved. He hadn't broken down and cried since that Christmas Eve shortly after her death. But he still fell silent sometimes, still got rattled when faced with certain subjects during a case, and Paige knew he was thinking about her. When his parents separated for an eight month period shortly after Megan died, she knew he wanted his sister to comfort him, like she'd always done when their parents distressed him as a child. He was still learning, years later, that grief never really went away.

"He'll be okay," she said firmly. "Where do you want to eat?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably be the last update for a couple of days. I gotta get some other projects finished and I'll be working the next five or six days. Hope you guys enjoy Twist and Shout!

Happy sat on the countertop, legs dangling, thinking.

She and Toby had spent all afternoon on the mountain, eating, talking, tickling each other to make noise and alert anyone they were there, pretending to nap to make their guard appear to be let down.

Nothing. No visuals of the girl, no sense of being watched, barely any noise in the bushes, certainly not enough to have come from a person.

Maybe Toby was right and the girl didn't need their help, but she couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in her gut. Maybe she had needed help, and they were too late.

"Hap," Toby said, returning from down the hall, "we can go back."

She was going to shake her head, tell him it was fine, she probably was overreacting anyway, but instead, her eyes lit up. "Really?"

He didn't say anything, just nodded.

She smiled. "Thank you. Even if...even if it's just for my peace of mind?"

He nodded again.

She smiled. "Thanks, doc."

Toby stepped closer to her, separating her knees slightly so he could stand between them, and leaned down and kissed her.

It was a gentle kiss, one that was meant to comfort and reassure, not arouse. But the day had been frustrating, uncertain, she needed an outlet, and she found the soft, brief touch of their lips the ultimate tease.

She put her hands to his face, pulling him back to her, tipping her face to the side for a better angle. She kissed him hungrily for several seconds, then released him, doing her best to give him a casual smile. "You're the best. Really."

She did her best to not lick her lips or look at his. It'd been a long day, they really _should_ just go to bed and sleep. Let him think that all she wanted was to give him a good kiss. She already felt needy enough today, and he'd humored her, up on that mountain.

He cocked his head. "Huh. Someone wants to get it on."

She folded her arms in protest.

"Nuh-uh," he said, wiggling a finger at her. "That's your turned on face."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"Happy," Toby said, "your implication that I don't know your turned on face...it's both insulting _and_ not true."

She hesitated for a second, then grabbed his jacket, pulling him back to her. He grinned as their mouths made contact, sliding his hands around her waist, tucking his fingers under her shirt. She squeezed his sides with her knees, holding him in place between them, sliding her arms around his neck.

He picked her up and carried her down the hall.

* * *

"What are you crazy kids up to?" Owen's dad asked, popping his head into his son's bedroom.

Olivia and Sloan lay on their stomachs on Owen's bed, heads near the foot, Sloan staring at her phone, thumbs hard at work. Haaziq sat on the desk chair, his knees pulled up to his chest. Owen and Ralph were on the floor, their backs up against the front of the little couch Owen had to use when they played video games. Carla was on her back in the middle of the floor.

Owen's dad raised his eyebrows. "Is this what you young folk call 'pretty chill'?"

"I'd say we're pretty chill," Haaziq agreed, nodding. "Consensus?"

"Chill," they chorused.

"What have you been doing?"

"We were playing my new game," Owen said. "But Olivia's too good at it."

She shrugged. "What can I say?"

"When I had sleepovers as a kid we climbed trees or built things," he said. "Or talked about girls," he admitted. "But no one really had co – ed sleepovers back then. I think Owen's mom said the girls would watch movies and do each other's hair and talk about how French kissing sounds gross." He paused. "Though I can tell you that the boys did that too, the last part. Hey, what about Truth or Dare? Do kids still play truth or dare?"

"I think Truth or Dare is fun," Haaziq said.

"Dad," Owen said pointedly.

"Sorry." He backed out of his son's room, drawing the door closed.

"What's Truth or Dare?"

Ralph and Owen exchanged small glances. Sloan, Carla, and Haaziq's jaws dropped.

"You don't know Truth or Dare, Liv?" Sloan asked.

"I mean..." Olivia shrugged. "I never had a group of friends before you guys. It's one of those things that you hear of, but you never really quite get around to trying to figure out."

"Basically," Haaziq said, "you go around and take turns asking someone truth or dare. If the person says truth, you ask them a personal question, and if they say dare, you tell them to do something. And they have to do it."

"That sounds a little bit like peer pressure," Olivia said, wrinkling her nose.

"Then just pick truth each time," he said, giving Ralph a little nudge with his elbow. "That's what he always does."

"It's a solid plan," Ralph confirmed.

"Alright," Sloan said, scooting backward. "Circle up. Who wants to ask first?"

"Me?" Carla asked, looking shy.

"Objections?" Haaziq asked the group.

"Go ahead, Carla," Owen said, nodding.

"Sloan, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Carla sighed. "I had such a good dare."

"That's why I picked truth," Sloan said triumphantly. "We're sisters. We have no secrets."

"What are you getting Mom for her birthday?"

"That's not fair. We said we weren't going to tell each other."

Carla grinned mischeviously, her voice in sing – song. " _You shoulda picked dare_..."

Sloan frowned, shrugging, putting the bottoms of her feet together and tugging them closer to her, her legs in the 'butterfly' stretch. "Okay. Well, last summer they went to Mackinac Island and stayed in that big, fancy hotel. They said they would walk the grounds at night and it was, like, super romantic and stuff. Gross, I know. And during the day, Mom said she met so many interesting people, and...you know how she wouldn't stop talking about it." She pressed her lips together. "Carla, this is so not fair. But okay so I commissioned a local artist to paint that hotel."

"Wow," Owen said. "That's really thoughtful."

Sloan shrugged. "I was happy when I thought of it. _Okay_ , my turn!" She grinned mischievously. "Ralph. Truth or dare?"

Ralph shifted his weight, glancing at Owen. "Uh..." He cleared his throat. "Dare."

"Ohhhhh..." Haaziq's eyes bugged out. "And here we have a plot twist!"

"Oh, shut up," Ralph said. "Lay it on me, Sloan."

Sloan's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Hack into the school district's web site and make it have the banner across the top that says classes are cancelled tomorrow."

Haaziq, Owen, and Carla looked at Sloan with wide eyes. "Dude," Haaziq said, looking at Ralph. " _Do it_."

"Can you do it?" Owen asked.

Ralph raised his eyebrows. " _Owen_."

The boy grinned. "I know. Dumb question."

Ralph pulled his laptop from the couch behind them, booting it up as the rest gathered around. Olivia rested her chin on his shoulder to get a better view of the screen. "Oh my gosh, this is cool."

"Basically, all I gotta do is...yep...right here...oh man," he chuckled. "They really need to have a more secure system, I could have hacked this when I was nine."

"Does that make this literal child's play?" Haaziq joked.

"Genius child's play!" Owen clarified.

Ralph's fingers flew over the keys, the screen refreshed, and stretched across the top was the notice. _All classes cancelled, Friday,_ and the date.

"Holy hell, Ralph," Sloan said.

He grinned triumphantly. "Then all I gotta do is..." a few more keystrokes, the screen refreshed, and the banner disappeared.

"Hey!" Carla protested.

"She didn't dare me to leave it like that," Ralph pointed out. "And you know it would never work. Most parents don't check the website and the buses would still run. They'd figure it out."

"I suppose you're right," Haaziq said. He shook his head. "I still can't believe you can do that."

"Ralph's amazing," Owen said. "Just like his dad."

Ralph had stopped correcting Owen on his technical relationship with Walter two years ago, but he smiled, glancing down at the watch on his wrist.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! Introducing a new storyline and continuing on with another one, the others will get picked up again in the next few chapters (you would not believe the diagrams I have in my notebook to help keep this stuff all paced and straight haha).

Walter was surprised at the name popping up on his caller ID, and he raised his eyebrows as he lifted the phone from the kitchen table to his ear. "Linda," he said, glancing quickly over at Paige, who immediately turned to peer over the back of the couch. "Hey."

"Hey!" Her voice was enthusiastic. "How are things?"

"Good, good, hold on," he said, "let me put you on speaker." He removed the phone from his ear and set it on the table. "Okay, she can hear you."

"Paige?"

"Hi Linda!" Paige called.

"Hey!" Both Walter and Paige could picture the grin on her face. "Okay, so I know you guys probably weren't expecting to hear from me for another couple of weeks,"

"Yeah," Walter said, "how has South Africa been?"

"Ca- _razy_ busy," she said. "But there has been a, uh, _slight_ change of plans.  I'm actually coming home in two days."

Paige looked concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said, her voice changing, growing warm, "actually...we're _both_ coming home."

Walter and Paige exchanged glances. Ever since Linda had gotten married the year before, she hadn't spent any time at home with her husband. He traveled constantly for work, and whenever she wanted to see him, she had to go to wherever he was at the moment. If Hank was coming home with her, it would mean the first time they were both in the United States since the week of their wedding.

"Well, that's fantastic," Walter said, "how long will he be here?"

"I'm hoping two weeks," she said. "Longer would be ideal, but I know I need to be happy with what I can get. Hank's always so busy."

"Definitely," Paige said. "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thanks," she said.

"We'd love to see you guys," Walter said.

"Sure," Linda responded. "I...I don't think I'll be bringing him by the garage, though."

"What if we make sure Toby won't make any hanky panky jokes?" Paige asked, knowing the answer to her own question, "though I suppose we can't make any promises on that front."

"Yeah, I don't think so.  Look, I'll call you guys after we get back, okay?"

"Sounds good," Paige said. "Well that's nice for her," she commented to Walter after he hung up. "I always felt she was putting more effort into that relationship than he was. It's nice that he's finally coming home."

Walter shook his head.

Paige nodded in response. Walter knew she shared his misgivings about Hank. He'd shown up at one of her organized speed dating nights, immediately withdrawn from the event to spend the evening talking to Linda, and asked her to marry him just two months later. She'd been hesitant, not accepting right away for fear of it being too soon, but at the end of the day, timing was her only red flag. He was kind, he was generous, he was good looking. He enjoyed spending time with her.

But since they'd been married, he'd been away, traveling more than he had before, never coming back to L.A. even though his wife was there. He sent her money to travel to visit him, but long hours on planes and in customs were taking their toll on the woman who had never left California prior. The last time they'd seen her, before she'd embarked to Africa, she'd been pale and tired.

"At least he's the one making the effort this time," Walter said, resting his arms on the table.

Paige nodded, biting her lip, a slight frown on her face.

* * *

 "All I'm saying is," Toby concluded, "we've never seen Happy Quinn and Doctor Who in the same place."

"First of all," Happy said, "his name isn't Doctor Who, and second, this is not a sonic screwdriver."

"A sonic...?" Walter was at Paige's desk rummaging through some paperwork, and he spun the chair around to face them. "What are you working on?"

"Just upgrading the sound system for the roof," Happy said. "We're testing it with sound effects from TV and movies. The last song on the original Star Wars soundtrack, the theme from Warehouse 13, stuff like that. Figure if I can get those things to sound like they do in their mediums, the system is effective. The challenge is getting it to be that way in an open space without having to blast full volume and without compromising the integrity of the sound."

"I don't really know how you're planning to do that," Toby said, "but it's hot."

"So by your logic, Tobes," Sylvester said, pointing a finger at his friend, "I could be Super Fun Guy. We've never seen me and him in the same place. I know what you're going to say," he said quickly when Toby opened his mouth, "but I never actually saw Walter _in_ the costume."

Happy looked at her husband. "He does have a point."

The group turned in unison as the door to the garage opened and their colleague walked in.

"Well there's the..." Toby's cheerful greeting faded away as soon as he saw the look on Paige's face.

"Walter?" She said, raising her eyebrows, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I need to talk to you."

Happy's eyes flashed to Toby, and he answered her unspoken question with a small shrug.

"What's...what's going on?" Sylvester asked, a tremor in his voice as he looked frantically from Happy, to Paige, to Walter, and back to the woman standing before them.

"Walter," Paige said again, pointedly, walking toward the stairs.

He followed her, alarmed. Her step was tense, her body stiff, as it got when she was angry about something. His mind raced as to what this might be about and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or concerned when he couldn't come up with anything.

When they reached the top of the stairs, she marched a few steps forward before turning around and putting her hands on her hips, her skirt flaring with the motion. Now that he was close to her, and she had stopped moving, he was even more alarmed. She was angry, that was certain, but there was also a hint of tears in her eyes, of fear.

"Paige, what..." he shook his head in confusion. "What's going on."

"I, uh," she said, wringing her hands, "I just got a notice from the college." She took a deep breath. "Ralph has been expelled."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already was planning to include Linda in this chapter, but I was under the assumption that Twist and Shout would be the last time we see her, and now I have no idea if/how much we'll see her again. So I'm just going to go forward as I initially planned with her part in this fic and if canon goes against anything I write I'll just have to live with it.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May be the last update until Sunday or so, depends on my work schedule. We’ve managed to get even more short staffed than before.

"I'm sorry," Walter said, " _expelled_?" He shifted his weight, shaking his head in disbelief. "H-h-how? Why?"

"Ap _parently_ ," Paige said, "he used a university issued computer to hack into another school's website and announced a faculty training day that meant classes were cancelled."

Walter frowned. "What did he do that for?"

"I don't know, genius," she snapped. "I was wondering if perhaps you knew anything about it."

"I didn't tell him to hack into anything," Walter said. "You know, you and I had this conversation almost six years ago."

"I just don't understand," she said. "The school has a zero tolerance policy for things like that. If they pursue it further, he could be fined. He could go to juvie, Walter." Her voice cracked at _juvie_. Walter's earlier interpretation of her was correct. She was angry – furious even – at her son, but the idea of him being put away, of having a criminal record...

Walter stepped toward her, reaching out, but she shook her head and backed up. "We need to go find him."

"Find him?"

"He's not answering his phone."

Walter thought a moment, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.

"It's off," Paige said, but he held a hand up to quiet her. After a moment, he nodded, putting it back in his pocket. "He's at Olivia's."

Paige cocked her head.

"Her phone is off too. Her phone is never off." He's got to be there." He looked toward the door. "Should we go now?"

Paige hesitated. "No." She shook her head slowly. "He'll come home." She rolled her lower lip under. "He knows I know. If we chase after him, he'll withdraw." She looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "Right?"

"We..." Walter shifted his weight again and nodded. "Some geniuses..." he nodded. "I agree. Let's give him time."

* * *

Ralph didn't enter the condo until after midnight, and he stopped immediately when he saw his parents sitting at the kitchen table. He looked at the floor. "I'm sorry."

Paige had been planning to lead with a simple question - _did you do it?_ She hated when parents were accusatory right off the bat. Even if Ralph was guilty, he deserved being asked the question. But his immediate apology told her all she needed to know. She jumped right into Question Number Two. "Ralph," she said, shaking her head. "What the Hell were you thinking?"

She wasn't sure if she wanted to scream at him or pull him to her and claw out the eyes of anyone who tried to put him in a detention center. He was her son, and she wanted to protect him at all costs, hell, earlier she was panicking internally, and she half considered asking Walter to go on the run with them. She knew the notion was ridiculous. She knew he had to own up to his actions. But he was still her baby.

"I'm sorry," the boy offered once more, shrugging his shoulders, still looking at his feet.

"Ralph, come here and sit across from your mother," Walter said sternly. "Buddy," he continued as Ralph did as he was told, "why?"

"We were playing Truth or Dare," Ralph said, "at the sleepover at Owen's the other night. Sloan dared me to change the website. I only did it for a minute! I switched it right back. And it was late at night. There is no way anyone saw it."

"The system can still tell if there's been unauthorized activity, Ralph," Walter said, "you know this. You've known this longer than I've known you."

Paige was confused. "You don't like Truth or Dare. You always pick Truth."

He shrugged again. "I always pick Truth," he repeated. "They know I always pick Truth. Dares are harder. I didn't want to be lame."

"Ralph, you are aware that this could change your entire life?" Paige asked raising her eyebrows.

"I didn't mean anything by it," he said. "No one got hurt. It isn't like last time."

"It's still illegal, Ralph," Walter said. "And completely unnecessary."

"It wasn't..." Ralph trailed off, playing with his hands. "Can Cabe do something?"

Paige raised her eyebrows. "What does Cabe have to do with this?"

"He can tell them that it was for Homeland. That I had to do it. That I was working on updating..."

He trailed off as Paige vigorously began to shake her head. She shook and shook and shook, only stopping to speak when she noticed Walter looking at her in concern and she realized how long she'd been doing it. "Absolutely not, Ralph. Cabe is not here so you can do whatever you want without consequences."

"You're fifteen, Ralph," Walter said. "And your mind is older. You're not a kid who doesn't know better anymore. You're someone who _should_ know better."

"Go get ready for bed," Paige said. "We're probably going to find out more about what will happen in the next couple days. Walter and I will be here for you, and we love you, but we aren't going to try to get you out of it."

Ralph was silent for a long time. Then, "okay."

He rose, slowly, and walked to his room, deflated. Paige watched him go, then sighed loudly, lowering her head to her arms as they rested on the table.

She felt Walter's hand on her back, and she turned her head to the side, facing him as her left rested on her arms. "The person he likes was at that sleepover."

"You think so?"

"I've known people to do rash, sometimes destructive things while acting on emotions," she said pointedly, "but you saw him when I pointed out he never does dares. He wanted to impress someone there."

"Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know," she said, "but that's the only way I can see him not thinking about the potential consequences."

"It can't be Sloan," he said. "That crush was years ago."

"I don't think it matters who," she said. "He wouldn't tell us now anyway. God," she shook her head. "His world just got turned upside down." She set her jaw. "He turned it upside down." She straightened up again, looking at him. "What is he going to _do_ now?"

"Work for Scorpion," Walter said simply. "Full time. In all likelihood, there may be a fine, but I don't see them wanting to put him away. He'll be able to start within a matter of days."

"Walter, he's fifteen."

Walter shrugged, and Paige gave a little understanding nod. She saw his point. Between the six of them, only Toby and Cabe had college degrees, and Cabe was the only one that sported both a completed college education as well as a clean criminal record. Scorpion wasn't about transcripts and honors. Scorpion was about potential.

"We wouldn't be taking him with us out of the country," Walter said quickly. "Not until he's eighteen. But he could help us with other things, like he's been doing, just...just every day. And for his own cut. And...and we'll all teach him things. Anything he needs to know. And anything he wants to know."

Paige sighed. "In all reality, this is what _you've_ wanted for years. I..." her voice cracked again. "I just wanted him to be a kid."

Walter slid his hand over on top of hers. "I know."

She knew he'd still be a kid. He'd still have his friends – Olivia, Owen, Haaziq, Sloan, Carla...all of them were in middle or high school. He got along with his college classmates, but none of them were really his _friends_. And Scorpion was doing very well without a bunch of college degrees.

Still...

Paige knew he'd brought this on himself. She knew she had to let the consequences come.

She still wished she could help him take it back.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed the Waige collaboration we posted yesterday! And now back to your regularly scheduled Serendipity.

Nine weeks was a significant period in a pregnancy. At nine weeks, the baby was undergoing the changes that would soon change its medical term from an embryo to a fetus. Other things were happening, too, but the changes were still subtle. Walter had seen her tuck her thumbs under her waistband a couple of times and tug. She wasn't showing yet, and she didn't even seem consciously aware of it, but she was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable in her form fitting clothes.

She wasn't sleeping well tonight, he'd been awakened by her tossing and turning. She rolled over again, fitfully, her arm flopping over so the back of her hand smacked his chest and then rested there. He curled one of his hands around it.

He wondered if the restlessness was from her pregnancy, her worry about Ralph, or perhaps a combination of both. Or maybe she was just having an unpleasant dream, Walter thought, because as he massaged her hand, she seemed to relax.

They really were a team, both at work and at home. It continued to amaze him how well they worked together, how well they knew each other, how well they picked up the other's slack. For all his difficulty with words, they kept coming easier and easier when he was talking to her. He made her feel safe on their dangerous jobs; she made him feel safe in society. And at home, she was his place to be vulnerable.

Their anniversary was coming up. He'd gotten them reservations to the new restaurant in the area, one that had made her eyes light up just reading the announcement. When he'd told her, she'd been speechless, putting her hands up to her face and grinning. He still didn't fully understand why loud restaurants with small portions of food made her so giddy, but while those things specifically didn't get that response from him, he didn't mind them, especially knowing how happy she was.

And she'd call ahead and make sure he had his smelly appetizer. She never told him she was doing it, and he'd never managed to catch her making the call, but when they arrived, it was always ready.

As she slept, her face contorted and she tossed her head, grunting quietly. He rolled on his side, kissing her forehead as he continued to turn her hand over in his. She seemed more uncomfortable than distressed. He figured her disturbed sleep was due to the pregnancy.

Of all the things they talked about, that was one subject that hadn't come up. He and Paige had _never_ discussed having children. As far as he'd always been concerned, she and Ralph were it, and she'd never brought it up either, despite her comments years earlier about wishing that Ralph had had a sibling. They were a family, a family that had found all of its members and a family that was complete. Paige was his person, Ralph was his son. It was simple.

But this part...Walter's eyes, adjusted to the dark, fell on Paige's abdomen. It wouldn't be too long before there would start to be movement. He already looked forward to feeling Megan's child kick against his hand. Paige told him when she was pregnant with Ralph, she could feel if his head or his rear was against the front, and if it was the latter, she would poke playfully and feel him react. Cabe told him that in the weeks leading up to his daughter's birth, if she kicked hard enough they could actually see the outline of her foot.

On one hand, Walter was desperate for those times, desperate for more tangible evidence of his sister. On the other hand, despite them never talking about it, he'd always assumed that if he had his hand against Paige's belly waiting for a kick, the baby would be both of theirs. Not neither. And he hadn't been around fifteen years ago.

It was primitive, what he was feeling now. He knew that. But he couldn't help it, he _was_ thrilled to be getting a niece or nephew and he _was_ thrilled that his sister was the mother of the baby growing inside Paige but he still felt...not territorial, not angry, not any of those things _at all_ , but...

* * *

"What's everyone doing lounging around? That is out-ray-geous!"

They were hardly lounging, but Toby, Happy, Cabe, and Walter all whirled around as one, startled. "Ray!" Walter said, the first to recover enough to speak. "It's been..."

"Too long, I know, but I'm back," he pulled some money out of his pocket, "I just came from the track, and now I'm ready to hit the sack. Airstream in the same place?"

" _Ray_ ," Happy said pointedly. "It has been _months_."

Ray cocked his head. "Aw. Was Happy Curtis missing Ray's bear hugs?"

"Quinn-Curtis," she mumbled under her breath as he wrapped his arms around her.

Walter was the next target. "So what brings you back, bud?"

"Well," he said, "all the other important people in my life are sort of...scattered about." He made a motion with his hands. "And with so many great people in one place, I figured I'd like to crash a while. I can be joking about the airstream though if you'd rather me stay somewhere else."

"I'm sure he won't mind," Toby said. "He never stays here anymore anyway."

"You and Paige just stay at her place."

"There we go!" Cabe said. "Eventually he'd randomly get it right."

"And speaking of," Ray said, grinning as he looked toward the stairs. "Patty!"

Cabe folded his arms. "And we're back."

"Ray!" She crossed the room and they threw their arms around each other.

"How have you been?" Ray asked.

"Well..." she lifted her left hand.

"Wally, look at you, man," Ray said, slapping his back. "There's hope for the rest of us after all, huh?

Toby furrowed his brow. "They're the last of _us_ to get married," he muttered to Happy, "what is he talking about?"

"It didn't work out with Bonnie?" Paige asked sympathetically.

"It's okay," Ray said. "It just wasn't right. She's okay, I'm okay, just one of those not – meant – to – be situations. Not a bad split at all."

"Well, that's good at least," Paige said. "Oh gosh, we have so much to tell you..." she trailed off. "But we should probably wait until Sylvester gets here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ray is going to have an impact on several storylines – including the Quintis one with the girl on the mountain, which will be picking back up very soon.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have some Quintis and Ray.

The hair stood up on the back of Toby's neck when Ray said, without a hint of doubt, "I know what girl you are talking about."

He glanced at Happy. Her eyes were twitching, as if she was trying not to let them get too wide. Typical Happy, not showing her hand, but Toby knew her, and he knew that the _idea_ of information about the girl on the mountain was exciting enough, hearing Ray say, definitively, that he actually could tell her things, well, for all her skilled façade, Toby was surprised his wife wasn't jumping out of her seat.

"For a while, when I was dating Bonnie," Ray continued, "we volunteered at this rec center, a sort of after school place that was meant to help troubled kids stay _out_ of trouble, you know. There were a couple of girls there, among them a pair of sisters. June and Collette. You got the sense that they didn't get along at all – too far apart in age to relate but too close for June to feel maternally responsible – but they stuck together because they were all the other had."

"No parents?"

"The mom died when the younger one was born. The dad was this close to losing custody for excessive drug use, but they never quite got him."

Toby glanced at Happy. She'd tensed, just slightly, when they'd learned how the girls' mother had died.

"Well anyway," he said, "I don't know what ended up happening to Collette. She stopped coming to the center. But June, she started living with their aunt four days a week and her father three. The aunt lives out by...by..." Ray snapped his fingers.

"Death Valley?" Happy asked.

Ray pointed at her. "That's it." He nodded. "But she told Bonnie once that when she's with her dad, she needs to get away. She knows a guy who will drive her to the mountains once a week and leave her there overnight, when her father's getting really bad with the substance abuse."

"Someone needs to get her out of that situation," Happy said. Toby felt her knuckles press against his hip as she gripped the couch cushion.

"People have tried," Ray said. "In various ways. She doesn't want help. She's seventeen, she'll be out of there in a year anyway. She loves her father, for all his faults, and her aunt provides a safe haven for her. I haven't seen her in a couple of months, but I doubt she's changed. She thinks if her father loses her and Collette, he will hurt himself."

Toby could feel Happy's agitation even though their only points of contact were her knuckles. It was in her posture, her demeanor, in the way she set her jaw. "She needs help, Ray."

"I agree," he said, "but legally, by the time anything would happen, she'd be eighteen and could make her own decisions. And despite her father being an addict, there's never been any sign of abuse, verbal, sexual, nothing."

"We saw her in an..." Toby put a hand on her knee and she got the message, trailing off. That emergency room visit could have been for any reason. She might have been visiting someone. It might not even have been her. Even if it was, the odds that Ray would have any idea what it was about were slim to none.

Happy's eyes were still flashing. "Threatening to hurt himself if she leaves is abuse."

"I don't think he's threatening," Ray said. "When she told Bonnie, it seemed to be just an impression she got. Obviously I don't know for sure, though. Sometimes CPS does drop the ball."

"No kid deserves that," Happy said, her jaw set. "Doc and I...we know what that's like. We can relate, both of us."

"You want to help her," Ray said, cocking his head and looking at Happy. "You told me that and I can see it in your eyes. But Happy, you and Toby...I know you want to help someone. Adopt a child that has had a rough go of it and make their life better. But you guys deserve something fulfilling. Adoption is almost always a rough process with an adjustment period but if it's a good fit, it'll turn out well. I don't see that happening with anyone and June. She's used to fending for herself, and pretty soon she can legally do that. Hey, Happy," Ray said, reaching out and putting a hand on her knee. "You and Toby will find a kid who will need you, and you'll adopt them, and you'll all work out any differences, and you will become the parents that that kid deserves. That kid just isn't June."

 _We need someone who eventually will want to be in our family, too,_ Toby thought. He didn't say it out loud. He knew that would make Happy feel like the two of them were ganging up on her. But he knew – and it looked like Ray knew too, given his reasons for no longer being in a relationship with Bonnie – that any relationship had to come both ways, and with June's age, they wouldn't have time to develop anything with her. They wouldn't have time to adopt her, period. She would turn eighteen and vanish.


	29. Chapter 29

" _I had to help. For the greater good. I'm part of the team!"_

Paige stood in the shadows as she watched Ralph hunch over the desk next to Walter, both of them working furiously. She didn't understand what they were doing, despite her years in this line of work.

She had tried to take him away from this once. She'd tried dragging him across the country to his biological father's doorstep, terrified for his life, willing to risk him being hurt emotionally again because she was so desperate to make sure he wasn't hurt physically.

Her decision had been rash, fueled by a dangerous day and conflicting emotions, but she felt that same fear today that she had back then. Ralph was now an official part of Scorpion, taken onto the team by Walter when his other options vanished. He'd be here daily, not catching carpools, not holed up in a university's library, but here, in the garage and eventually in other countries, risking his life for the greater good, just as he'd been so willing to do five years before.

* * *

"You do realize that because of first impressions, no matter how many times you walk in here I'm going to be looking for a bomb?"

Linda rolled her eyes, spread her arms, and slowly pivoted three hundred and sixty degrees, stopping to cock and eyebrow at the behaviorist. "Satisfied?"

He tossed a chip in the air and caught it in his mouth. "For now."

"Linda!"

She turned, a grin already on her face. "Hey Walter!"

"You have a good flight home?" He asked, opening an arm out as he approached, already knowing that she was going to hug him.

"It was long," she said, reaching for him. "But nice, you know, Hank is always so busy, but on the flight, he doesn't have to work, no one else is asking for him time, we could just talk, you know, that was, that was nice." She hopped up on the nearest desk. "Where's Paige?"

"Where's Hank?"

She ignored Toby's question. "How is the baby doing? How is Sylvester?"

"The baby's fine," Walter said, "everything perfectly normal so far. Sly's pretty excited."

"Was it all the hanky-panky jokes?"

"That's so exciting," Linda said, continuing to pretend Toby wasn't speaking. "You know how long it's been since I've gotten to play with a baby? Not," she stopped, looking suddenly awkward, "not that...I know it's up to Sylvester who...but...I mean, I'd love to meet her. Or him."

"I'm sure Sylvester would be fine with that." Paige, who'd appeared from the kitchen area in time to hear Linda begin to stammer.

"Hey," Linda said, the grin returning to her face. Paige's expression matched, and the two women hugged. "Wow," Linda said, shaking her head as she held Paige at arm's length. "You look...almost the same!"

"I think I look exactly the same," Paige said.

"No, definitely not," Linda said. "You're showing already."

Walter frowned. "I don't see any difference."

"You see her every day," Linda pointed out. "I haven't seen her since before all this happened. There's a definite difference."

Paige placed her hands on her lower abdomen. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe we'll start noticing soon then," Paige said. "April will be over before we know it, and then I'll be a solid couple of months along."

Linda nodded awkwardly. Everyone in the room knew that Megan's birthday was coming up, just a few days after Paige's. "Lots happens in April," she said quickly, clumsily. "Are you guys done fixing up the bathroom? I gotta pee."

"No," Walter said, "turns out the structural integrity of the wall is a complete loss and with no one really living here, we haven't gotten around to it. There's one in the airstream, _Ray_!"

The former fire fighter was tinkering with something in the corner of the garage, and he straightened up and headed over to them. "Yeah, Wally?"

"This is Linda," he said. "Linda, Ray. Can you show her to the bathroom?"

"Yeah," he said, gesturing with his head. "This way."

"Thanks."

"If she didn't like my hanky panky jokes," Toby mumbled to Walter and Paige, "she's not going to make it to the airstream and back before she's had enough of all his Ray puns. Still better than your bomb jokes though, I do want to make that clear."

Paige smirked, then turned to Walter. "Did she say anything about Hank?"

Walter shrugged. "He's home."

"When Happy came home from that stint in Austria, I spent the next seventy two hours in her father's workshop so she could be with both of us, even though I don't like the smell of that machine he was working on" Toby said. He looked at Walter while gesturing to Paige. "When you returned from Somalia, I don't think she let you out of her arms for the rest of the week. They're both home for the _first time_ since the marriage, and she's here? Without him? I mean, it's healthy to not have to spend every waking second together to function but you'd think they wouldn't let anyone else near them right now."

"Every couple is dif..." Paige trailed off, shifting her weight at Toby's expression. "Yeah, I know." She rubbed a scuff mark on the floor with the toe of her boot. "I know better than anyone here."

" _And he said that I had enormous potential. He wanted me, really wanted me, and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to get me where he was. The offer, Paige, the offer was absolutely too good to refuse."_

" _Drew..." She bit her lip. "You said you were joining us at the end of the season. That was a season ago. You haven't even been to this place since you helped move us out here."_

" _I will. Just one more year. Paige, I'm sorry, but this opportunity...it's just too good to miss out on."_

_Paige looked over at her son, who had sat up at the mention of his father's name and was staring at her intently. "But we're not too good to miss out on?" She said quietly._

" _Paige, don't be like that. I know it's hard, but we have to make sacrifices."_

_Paige frowned. Drew was still playing baseball, just like he always had wanted. She'd given up on school, on singing, on her relationship with her parents, all because of the little boy who had become her entire world. She understood wanting something, and being willing to do anything for it, and she almost said "I'm the one making all the sacrifices, Andrew," but she didn't._

_Because when the alternative was not being there for her son, giving up all those things was the easiest task in the world. She would do it again, every day for the rest of her life._

" _Well, do what you need to do," she told Drew flatly. "And we'll see if we're still here when you decide we're too good to miss out on."_

" _Don't be like that, Paige. It's just one more season, okay?"_

" _Sure. Oh..." she trailed off. "The landlord is getting angry. Says if we don't pay on time this month we'll get evicted. My three year old will not be homeless, Drew."_

" _I told you I'll send the money. Okay?"_

" _Thank you." She set the phone back down onto the receiver. "Your dad has another job."_

_Ralph's large eyes were unblinking._

" _He'll be home after this one," she said. "That's what he says."_

_Ralph frowned, scooting to the edge of the couch, picking up the bottle of nail polish that was sitting on the coffee table._

" _You wanna..." Paige shrugged. "Okay. Just let me put some paper down and wash my hands." She placed her hand on her son's shoulder and kissed the top of his head._


	30. Chapter 30

Oftentimes Walter reached for her as they slept.

Sometimes he just wanted to pull her closer, and she would happily cuddle up to him.  Sometimes she’d feel one of his hands running over her shoulder or hip, and she would smile to herself, loving the knowledge that he was still mesmerized by her. 

Sometimes, like tonight, he reached for her because he had to.

She could tell by the way his body tensed, the way she could hear his breathing.  He had an odd relationship with his brain during episodes like this.  He couldn’t calm himself down, nor could he think himself out of it, but for some reason he was seemingly capable of realizing he was distressed and when she was beside him, he sought her out without waking up.

He didn’t get like this often, but Paige had expected it to happen tonight, the night before Megan’s birthday in a year when Megan’s child existed even though she did not.

Paige rolled over to face him. His body was tense, his hands and lips were trembling, and she knew his eyes were damp even though they were closed.  His skin was hot – but she pulled him to her anyway, running a hand through his damp hair before closing both her arms around him.  He still desperately missed Megan, she knew that, and she knew that this year her birthday would be harder on him.  She had told Sylvester that she thought he would be okay – and he would.  He struggled, but he didn’t let his grief cripple him.

 _I would if I didn’t have you and Ralph_ , he would say if he were awake and they were having this conversation.  But he wasn’t awake, he was asleep, his subconscious consumed by his sister, the feelings that he usually could push to the back of his mind bubbling over because he wasn’t awake to combat them.

She rubbed his back gently, her lips near his ear.  “It’s okay,” she whispered, biting her lip as he made a small whimpering sound.  “It’s okay.”

Her heart felt like someone had placed a pair of pliers around it.  She wished she had the magic solution to make him feel better.

 _You are the magic solution, kid._   That’s what Cabe had told her last November, on the anniversary of Megan’s death.  _You know where he’d be without you._

She didn’t feel very magical.  If she was magical, she could stop him from getting like this in the first place.

“I’m right here,” she told him, continuing to rub his back.  She kept her mouth close to his ear.  “You’re going to be fine, it’s all going to be fine.” He wasn’t feeling any more relaxed, and a pained sound still escaped his throat.  She switched to third person, hoping her name and her voice could combine to get through to him.  It had often worked with Ralph, when he was young and scared, to replace _I_ with _Mommy._ “Paige loves you.  Paige is not letting you go.  Paige is right here.”

It might have sounded silly to her ears, but Walter slowly began to come out of the distress.  He was still drenched in sweat, but he began to cool off.  His throat relaxed, he stopped whimpering, and his breath began to slow.

“There you go,” she whispered, her lips curving into a small smile.  She shifted her body so she could put her forehead against his, her arms still around him, no space between them from chest to knee.

There was a minute or two of silence.  Then, “Paige?”

His voice was quiet, hoarse.

“Right here,” she said, kissing the side of his nose.  She didn’t tell him what had been happening. He’d remember, even if his nightshirt wasn’t plastered against his skin.

“Megan,” he said, even more quietly than he’d said Paige’s name.  He let out a heavy sigh.

“Do you want some water?” she whispered.  Without waiting for an answer – she knew he needed some – she untangled herself from him, rising and heading into their bathroom.  When she returned, he had the little overhead light on and was lying on his back, staring out at nothing.

She crawled back onto the bed and handed him the glass, helping him sit up so he could drink.  He took about half, then set it on the nightstand and turned his head to face her, his dark eyes sad and dull.  He pressed his lips together.  “Can you just hold me?”

“Yes.”

They shifted positions, Walter rolling onto his side against her, his head on her chest as she wrapped her arms around him.  “I’ve got you,” she whispered, remaining awake even as his breathing regulated and his body relaxed.

“I’m right here.”


	31. Chapter 31

"Are you bored, Happy?"

The mechanic was laying on the couch, her hands folded. She wasn't asleep and Paige knew it. "No." An eye opened. "Are you?"

"I'm not used to the guys being out of the country on a job that we aren't even needed for."

"Well neither you nor I can hack computers or read people through video surveillance."

"I know. And it's not like this job is dangerous it's just..." Paige shrugged. "It'd have been fun to go to Egypt, don't you think? See the pyramids?"

"Did you know the pyramids are actually not out in the middle of nowhere like a lot of people believe?" Happy said. "You can view them from a Pizza Hut."

"I think I knew that." Paige tapped her pen against her chin. "Still, there's a lot of history in there. Egyptian civilization goes back thousands of years. Whether or not the ambience is still there, you're still where these things happened."

"I keep forgetting you were a history major," Happy said. Of course she hadn't actually forgotten – it was her way of reminding Paige that Egyptian history was not a draw for her.

Paige shrugged and went back to looking through the bills. "Where is Ray?"

"Left this morning."

" _Left_ as in...?"

"Nah, he'll be back. I think he wanted to find some of his old buddies from when he lived in that lot."

"Mmm." Paige frowned at the piece of paper she was holding. "Why are we being charged almost three thousand dollars for auto repairs?"

Happy sat up. "God dammit, Toby. He was involved in a real life game of bumper cars driving home from that benefactor dinner a few weeks ago," she explained as Paige's eyebrows shot up. "He said he'd make sure we wouldn't pay a cent. I guess he thought he'd bill Scorpion since we were technically on a job."

"Walter won't be having that," Paige said.

"Yeah no, don't tolerate it. He's still scared that whenever we have a kid, anything we can't afford will be his fault because of his previous gambling. So he doesn't want to spend a cent that he doesn't have to right now. But this was just him being stupid."

Paige looked at Happy for a long time. "We'll cover it."

"Paige."

"No, we will." Paige opened up the billing program.

Happy gave a small smile. "Thank you."

She didn't want to accept the offer on principle, Paige new. But both of them understood it was what was best for Toby.

Paige finished up the bills and stretched her arms. She looked over at Happy, who had risen from the couch and began to tinker with something at her desk. She admired the mechanic's complete dedication and focus to anything she was doing – she always had, but in the past week or so, she'd been finding it harder to focus. _Pregnancy brain_ , Toby had said. He was probably right. She'd gotten this way, a little bit, when she was carrying Ralph. She'd certainly gotten the fatigue.

"I'm going to go upstairs and lay down," she told Happy. "They said they'd call when they were headed back to the airport."

"If they call here I'll wake you," she promised.

Paige climbed the stairs and yawned upon reaching the top. She wouldn't have any problem falling asleep; her concern was sleeping through Walter calling her to let her know the job was done and they were coming home. They wouldn't beat Sylvester and Ralph, who had taken a day trip up the coast, but she knew specifically when to expect her son home. She supposed if she did sleep through Walter's phone call, time would appear to pass by faster, and he and Toby would be home. While they often split up the team by having a few members stay back at the garage during a job, it felt wrong for only a few of them to be working on a case. This job just needed Walter and Toby; Cabe wasn't even with them, which felt weird even though it wasn't a government related job. But Paige supposed she should be glad – she was too tired to be able to be much help today.

She was just beginning to drift off, to surrender to sleep, when she jolted awake, gasping, heart pounding. She sat up, taking a few deep breaths. She let one out slowly, counting, _one, two, three, four, five, six._ Laying back down, she rolled onto her side, not quite as tired as before. _What the Hell?_

She reached across the bed and pulled Walter's pillow to her. They hadn't slept here in a month, but it still smelled like him. Hugging the pillow to her chest, she found herself able to slip back into the pleasant, sleepy state.

* * *

"Paige?"

At the sound of her name, Paige opened her eyes, rolling over to her other side to look toward the sound. She saw the overhead clock – she'd only been asleep about a half hour.

Happy stood in the door, her face drained of color. "Don't get up," she said quickly.

Paige frowned. "Happy, what's wrong?"

"Ah..." her breath was coming hard, and a hand came up to her mouth as if she was afraid she was going to be sick. Despite the warning, Paige jumped to her feet, walking in front of Happy and staring into her eyes. "Happy." She focused on the mechanic to try to keep her brain focused on something other than the dizziness. Her voice came in a whisper. "It's the guys, isn't it?"

Happy reached out and grabbed both of Paige's hands. "Turns out the place they were working was close to the desert, and turns out that part of the desert was a sight of the Egypt – Israel wars of forty years ago."

Paige wanted to beg Happy to get to the point, but the mechanic didn't ever use more words than necessary. "Walter...and...and Toby..." Happy said, taking in a shaky breath, "they ended up in a minefield."

Paige was in the middle of inhaling when Happy spoke, and her breath caught and she coughed. "Land mines?" She said, her voice not sounding like herself. "Oh my god..."

She realized they wouldn't know about this if the rest of the story was _yeah so that was a bit harrowing but it's all fine now._

"Happy what..." She drew a ragged breath. "Are they alive?"

Happy pressed her lips together. "The two soldiers they were with are dead. They were the ones that triggered the mine. Our guys are being airlifted to a hospital in Hurghada. It only happened about thirty minutes ago, so we don't know anything yet."

"How bad?"

Happy rolled her lower lip under her top teeth. "We don't know. Cabe just informed me. He's arranging for transport for us."

"We should have been there," Paige said, her voice betraying the tremor in her throat.

"You know that wouldn't have made a difference."

"I don't know that," Paige said, "we don't even know the extent of what they were doing over there."

"Paige. The guys might keep information from us so we don't worry. Cabe wouldn't do that. He's up front. It started out as just a normal tech job. Important yes, high level security, but it wasn't supposed to be a risk. Not like Fort Knox."

She was speaking calmly, but Happy's eyes had always been expressive. Even if it wasn't obvious that she'd be terrified for her husband, the eyes betrayed her. Paige tightened the hold on Happy's hands. "So what do we do now? We just wait for Cabe?"

"He'll get us there the fastest," Happy said. "But I say we should head for the airport, that's where any plane he arranges for us will land, and if we can be there when it gets there..."

"We'll get there that much faster."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both Paige and Happy are a bit in shock now, we'll get more blatant emotional reactions to this next chapter. Sorry to leave you all hanging when we're all stressing about the finale, but you won't have to wait 147 days for this to be updated. ;)


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that cliffhanger guys, but IN MY DEFENSE I had already had this part outlined back in January so before any of this finale stuff came out. The timing of publishing just happened to work out this way. I do promise you all I am not killing off anyone on the team in this fic, so hope that helps you all rest easy. This will probably be my last update before the finale airs, tomorrow I'll probably update In The Name of Science.

Toby hurt.

He was good at figuring out _what_ hurt. Even when he was tied up and tortured, he could always identify exactly what part of his body was bothering him. Not this time. All he could figure out was there was pain, and there was an inability to form a complete thought. Lots of single syllable questions rushed through his mind.

_What...where...is...which..._

He tried to speak, and it came out as a groan. There was a bright light above him and he briefly wondered if he'd been wrong about heaven. Then he realized the light was coming and going – he was on his back, heading down a hallway.

"Hosp...?"

"Yes sir," came a voice, louder than the couple that were making comments to the effect of _he's awake_. "Yes sir, you're at the hospital."

"What...?" He remembered scanning a crowd, deciding what the best places were to place security cameras. He remembered the manager of the hall suggesting they head outside...

"You were in the vicinity of a triggered mine," came the voice. The accent was thick, and Toby was finding it hard to understand.

"Mine?"

"Yes sir, try to relax sir, we're taking you to the O.R., you've lost a lot of blood and we have to operate on your legs, you're going to be fine, just let us to the work, okay, soldier?"

"Ah...ahm...not a soldier." There had been two soldiers. Two soldiers with him and Walter. "Walter.""

"He's right behind you," came the voice. "He's here too, we're taking care of him."

Toby wasn't completely sure what they'd said. "Walter?"

"He's here. He's come in right behind you. Try to relax, sir, let us help you."

Toby felt like his head was spinning, and if he wasn't careful, it would come right off his neck and fly away with the momentum. And he hurt. Something hurt, but he couldn't figure out what.

_We have to operate on your legs._

Yes, Toby thought. His legs definitely hurt. But so did his stomach, his chest, his face, _good god_ , how bad off was he? He tried to gauge the level of force in the man's voice, to decide how much of his assurances were real and how much of them were just attempts to prevent him from panicking. He wasn't able to figure it out and that agitated him. If he was going to die, he didn't want to be lied to.

 _If I'm not going to make it, you need to tell me and you need to let me talk to my wife._ He wasn't able to get the sentence out. All he could do was groan.

Then the lighting changed, the voices changed, and he felt himself being pulled into sleep.

* * *

The hospital seemed disorganized and chaotic, but Paige was sure it was only because her mind was in a million places at once. Cabe seemed to know exactly where he was going – which was straight to a particular nurse. "Dina," Cabe said, reaching out a hand. He gestured to Paige and Happy. "This is Paige O'Brien and Happy Quinn – Curtis."

"Pleasure to meet you," Dina said, extending her hand. "I wish it was under different circumstances." Paige hoped her palm wasn't too sweaty. She had to be introduced as Paige O'Brien to be allowed in; if she gave Dina the impression that she wasn't actually Walter's wife, she feared they'd do some digging and not allow her to stay. She felt it was a safe assumption that being forcibly removed by security wouldn't be good for the pregnancy.

"Are they alive?" Happy asked, her voice tense.

"Yes," Dina said. "They're both still in surgery. Mr. O'Brien needs about a half dozen pieces of metal removed, and some ripped through his skin and require stitches even though they didn't implant. He banged his head pretty hard on a rock when he fell and they're watching for swelling in his brain. He was lucky, in a way – he was standing the farthest from the mine and some of the metal went through one of the men he was with before it reached him, slowing it down and causing the pieces to not go all the way in. That does increase the risk of infection, however, but we'll start him on aggressive antibiotics."

"And Toby?"

Dina hesitated. "Mr. Quinn – Curtis suffered extensive injuries to his legs, and he too has metal that needs removing."

"Is he going to survive?" Happy asked, sounding almost angry at Dina not jumping straight to prognosis.

"He's still in surgery," Dina said, "but at the very least, he will have plates and rods in his legs. His right tibia is shattered, and the preliminary examination on the way in predicts at least three other fractures. They're hoping they will not have to amputate, but..."

Paige felt Happy's fingers closer around her arm, but Paige wasn't stable enough to support the both of them. She staggered a step to the side, a hand at her mouth. Cabe held a hand out, just in case, but she caught herself, bracing back against Happy. The two woman stood quietly together.

"I do not know when either of them will be out of surgery," Dina said, "but I will let you know as soon as I know anything. You may wait over there."

She gestured to an empty couch.

"Walter will probably be out of surgery first," Happy said after a long silence.

"So all of us will be able to be there when Toby comes out," Paige said immediately, trying to encourage her friend.

Happy sighed. Paige reached out and took her hand. "I hate waiting," Happy said. "Usually there's something we can do."

Paige nodded. She knew on some cases she was more useful then on others, but she never sat back and did nothing. She remembered that night they all waited in the hospital to see if Olivia's body would accept her new heart. Waiting was the worst.

They'd been nearly silent the entire ride over on the special plane. She and Happy had sat next to each other, sharing a blanket, just staring ahead. Cabe hadn't said much either. Paige had noticed him looking worriedly at them on more than one occasion. She knew he'd wanted to comfort them, but he was worried about Toby and Walter too.

What Paige had wanted to do was cry. But she didn't. She couldn't in front of people who were just as anxious as she was.

She nearly had broken, however, when talking to the one person who she'd always had to keep it together for.

_Ralph was silent. Then, "you're going over there now?"_

" _Yeah, baby. Our plane will be here in less than fifteen minutes."_

_Ralph's voice was quiet. "Will you tell him I love him?"_

_Paige nearly broke. "Of course I will." She paused. "But he already knows. You know that, right?"_

" _Mom, stop." Ralph's voice was shrill. "You're acting like you won't get a chance to tell him!"_

Paige bit her lip, tears leaking as she remembered how terrified her son sounded. She felt Happy grip her hand tighter, and she leaned over, the two women pressing their cheeks together.

They remained that way for nearly an hour until Dina returned to say that Walter was out of surgery. "He's awake, but we don't know for how long. You can see him for a minute, Mrs. O'Brien."

* * *

His eyes were closed when Dina led Paige into the room, and she was glad he didn't see her hand go to her mouth.

He was fresh out of surgery, and his face was pale. A patch of his hair had been shaved and replaced with a bandage. He had a blanket up to his chest, but she could tell that his legs were bandaged too. And Dina had told her that he had stitches just above his hip, and it was only luck that the shrapnel had shot through on an angle and tore out some skin instead of sinking into his body and damaging an organ.

Dina stepped back, and Paige stepped forward, already halfway across the tiny room. She reached out a finger and brushed it against Walter's cheek.

He opened his eyes, looking surprised to see her. "Pay."

"I'm right here." She wanted to take his hand, but it was bandaged. She rested her other hand lightly on it and kept running her finger along his cheek. "Ralph wanted me to tell you he loves you."

"He can tell me when I get home. You didn't have to come all this way." A small smile was on his face.

"If you don't know by now that I can't leave you anywhere..." She bent at the waist and kissed his forehead. "They might be able to fly you home tomorrow."

"Good." He closed his eyes, his voice a mere mumble. "It feels like it's been so long since I've been in your arms."

It had only been two days, but Paige knew exactly how he felt. All she wanted to do now was pull him into her arms and keep him there, like she had four days before, on Megan's birthday, as he came down out of his distressed sleep.

At least she was able to talk to him. She bit her lower lip. "Do you remember what happened?"

He frowned. "No."

She heard the beeping of the machines change slightly. "No no," she said. "Don't think too hard. You hit your head, you know you need to take it easy."

"Toby."

His eyes opened wide, and he looked at her fearfully.

"He's..." Paige cleared her throat. "He's alive. He's still in surgery." She didn't want to tell him that Toby could lose both of his legs. Not when he was so shortly removed from surgery himself. "You should rest. You've had a rough day."

"You must be tired," he said. "Coming all this way." Even injured, exhausted, clinging to consciousness, he was still concerned for her.

"I slept on the plane," she lied. The last time she'd slept was the day before, when she'd laid down to take a nap in the garage. It hadn't even been a good nap, as she'd jolted out of it once before finally settling down to sleep.

As Walter slowly dozed off, her hand still against his cheek, Paige realized that she'd been sleeping about a half an hour when Happy had told her that Walter and Toby had been injured thirty minutes before. She had to have jolted awake at almost the exact moment that the mine had gone off, over seven thousand miles away.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY so I'm just gonna say this. The secret marriage thing? I'm not doing that in this fic. I might have incorporated it if we knew who Happy's husband or wife is, but since we don't, my options either were ignore it or stop publishing this fic until we find out, and honestly, I don't like the twist at all so why would I pause my fic for it? Screw that, in this fic, it's not a thing.
> 
> (Also, despite the writers implying that they're not going to move Waige forward in 3.01, when I write the Walter/Paige anniversary in two chapters, I'm keeping it April 23.)

"Well, that's a beautiful sight."

Happy smiled down at him, and Toby took her in. She looked exhausted. She probably hadn't slept in two days and her smile was almost certainly for his benefit.

He waited for her to make a comment like _good job avoiding the mines, dummy_ or _if you think I'm gonna keep coming halfway around the world to make sure your ass is okay, you've got another thing coming._ But she didn't. She just looked down at him, her dark eyes betraying her concern.

"It's okay, Hap," he said. "Don't you worry about me. I'm going to be fine."

He couldn't remember if he'd been awake before. He vaguely remembered coming to the hospital, calling for Walter, but if a doctor had told him how his surgery went, he couldn't remember. "What did they say?"

Happy gave a nod. "I'm gonna be fine, what did they say?" She rolled her eyes at his contradictory words. "You're something else, doc."

He wiggled his fingers, and she noticed, curling her hand around his. "They managed to save your legs."

"Good," he said. "I've had those as long as I can remember – would hate to lose them."

"You've got a lot of metal in them now," she said. "You've got a rod through your femur and basically everything from the knee down on your right leg was shattered. You're going to be in the hospital for a couple weeks and you'll have to do extensive physical therapy to learn to walk again."

Toby was quiet. "That's going to put our adoption plans on hold."

"Doesn't matter," she said, turning his hand over in hers.

"Yes it does," he said, squeezing her hand. She was looking down at their hands, and he wanted her to look at him. "Happy."

She shifted her gaze to his face.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "This is messing everything up."

"Doc, you're an idiot."

She set her jaw, shaking her head. "I don't care if our adoption process gets set back a few months. You could have died. You could have died seven thousand miles from me. When we got here we didn't know if you'd make it out of surgery. And as much as I care about Walter, when they let Paige go back to see him I wanted to drive my fist through a wall because I was so agitated at the idea that I might never get to talk to you again."

He watched her face as she spoke, his heart hurting as it reflected the pain she was feeling in reliving those hours he was in surgery.

She continued. "I want to have a family with you, okay? But the family that we already have – each other – that's what's the most important thing to me. I couldn't do any of this alone...somewhere down the line I stopped really being able to exist without you. If I'd lost you today, I'd keep on, but I'm not as strong as Sylvester. I'd spend a while just going through the motions while I remembered what it was like to be alone, and I'd hate myself for it because you're not supposed to really, really need someone else. But I do, okay?" She bit her lip. "I'll be a mom someday. Right now I'm just glad that I'm still a wife. And I'm grateful that I get to bring you home.."

He exhaled slowly, thinking. "I'm sorry. I just want us to keep moving our lives forward."

"We will."

"How is Walter?"

"He's got some stitches and a head injury, they're still keeping an eye on him. Ralph is helping Owen and Olivia with their big astronomy project and Paige has them on the phone. They've got it sitting next to them on speaker so Walter can listen to their planning process. It's been doing a good job keeping him relaxed."

"Head injury."

"Yeah. It's not going to have any long term effects but he'll have some issues focusing for a while, like he did after the car accident."

"That'll be hard on him." Toby frowned. "This whole thing will be hard on all of us." He felt frustrated. "This wasn't even supposed to be a complicated job."

"Yeah, about that," a corner of her mouth turned up and a glint reappeared in her eyes. "Good job avoiding the mines, dummy."


	34. Chapter 34

"Let's go home."

She waited to say the words until they were out of earshot of Happy and Cabe. Everyone was back in the U.S., but Toby wasn't going home. Not yet.

Upon landing in Virginia, Toby and Walter were taken to the military hospital. Walter, as expected, had been almost immediately discharged. Toby – and Happy and Cabe – would remain there through the week.

"Go home," Toby had told Walter and Paige firmly. "You'll recover faster in L.A. And Ralph needs you."

"We're not going anywhere until you can come with us," Walter said, but everyone could hear the faltering in his voice. No one doubted that he'd fully intended to stay with Toby, but the mention of Ralph had weakened him.

Cabe arranged for an immediate flight home.

* * *

"Here we are," Paige said, even though Walter obviously knew they were home.

"Mom, Walter."

Ralph and Olivia were sitting on the couch, a textbook in the girl's lap. Ralph jumped up and crossed the room, his eyes looking Walter up and down, the relief evident in his eyes.

"We're home," Paige said, stating the obvious once again. She knew it helped, though, to reassure people with emotional struggles. "We're home and it's okay."

Ralph nodded. Olivia closed her book and rose. "I'm glad you're okay, Mr. O'Brien."

"Thanks for staying with me," Ralph said to her.

"That was nice of you, Olivia," Paige said, smiling at the girl.

"Owen and I traded," Olivia said. "Keeping an eye on Ralph and Sylvester. He's been at the beach the past few days. But I have to go now. Uh..." she looked awkward. "School tomorrow."

She felt awkward talking about school because of Ralph's expulsion, Paige realized. Her son really had formed the best friendships.

"How long until Toby can come home?" Ralph asked after Olivia had left.

"Maybe early next week," Paige said. "He'll have to do a lot of physical therapy. He will basically have to learn to walk again. But he's alive."

Ralph nodded. "That's enough. For now."

"Exactly." Walter smiled at him.

"Let's get you to bed," Paige said, a hand on his arm. "It's been a really long couple of days, and you haven't slept well."

"You haven't either," Walter said.

"I don't think you're the one that gets to be worried about the other right now," she said, chiding him playfully. "Come on." She put a hand on his back as they walked down the hall. "I'm going to go say good night to Ralph," she said. "I'll be back in just a minute."

Ralph was standing awkwardly in the hall. "Baby," she said. "We're gonna go to sleep. Can I get a hug?"

Ralph walked up to her in answer, and she curled her arms around him. "You've been so brave these past few days," she whispered. "You just continue to amaze me."

"Owen and Olivia helped," he said. "I know I could have just gone to the beach with Sylvester but..." he wrinkled his nose. "It'd be too hard to think about Megan. I know that helps him, but it just makes me sad."

"I know." She kissed the top of his head – something, she realized, she wouldn't be able to do much longer. "We can talk more in the morning if you want?"

He nodded. Paige hugged him again, then returned to Walter.

He was laying in the middle of the bed, but Paige still had room on the other side. "Do you want your space tonight?" She asked as she stood at the edge. He'd been in a tiny hospital bed the past few days – he might want to relax by himself.

But Walter shook his head, looking up at her. "I'm not really home until you're lying next to me, Pay."

She smiled – both from his words and the fact that she'd known that was exactly what he was going to say. Dropping onto the bed, she scooted closer to him, kissing his forehead.

"Hey," he mumbled. "Pay?"

"Hmmm?"

He had a playful smirk on his face. "Why is it that when I'm injured and unconscious and I don't know you have feelings for me, you kiss me on the lips, but I get injured while we're engaged and you keep going for my forehead?"

She grinned and rolled her eyes. "Shut up." Leaning over him, she brushed her lips against his. "It's so good to have you home."

"And I'll be fine in a couple days. Our anniversary is a week away. I should be presentable enough to go to the restaurant."

"Most of your stitches are under your dress up areas anyway." She smiled. "But it wouldn't matter."

"Mom? Walter?"

They looked toward the voice. Ralph stood in the door, his left hand curled around the fingers on his right. "Is everything still okay?"

"Yeah, baby," Paige said. "Everything is fine, I promise."

"Okay."

He stood there in silence, looking uneasy.

"It is gonna be fine, buddy," Walter said. "I'm tired...sore...but I'm okay."

"Okay."

More silence.

"Ralph," Paige said, "would you like to stay in here with us?"

She'd hit the mark. She could tell the way Ralph looked down and shifted his weight. Then he bit his lip. "Aren't I too old for that?"

Paige smiled at him. "Ralph, don't be ridiculous."

The boy hesitated, then gave a small nod and crossed the room, circling around to the far side of the bed and crawling in. He lay on his side to award Walter some personal space, and studied the older genius, worry in his eyes.

"Hey, Ralph," Walter said, turning his head to see him. "You know when your mom came to me in Egypt, she told me right away that you said you wanted to make sure I knew you love me." He gave a small smile. "I was feeling pretty bad in there. Seeing her and hearing from you?" He smiled. "If feelings could heal physical wounds, I would have been as good as new right then and there."

"My mom made you really sappy," Ralph said, but there was a grin on his face. A dorky grin. He hesitated before he spoke again. "I guess that's a...a dad thing, huh?"

Walter reached over and tousled the boy's hair. "My son."

The words were spoken so affectionately Paige was transported back to the day they'd met, and how that night she'd watched as Walter and Ralph nurtured their newfound bond, sitting on the couch in her old apartment, playing Ralph's game, talking about rewinding their dreams and what color their days of the week were.

She'd known at the time that there was something special about that. She hadn't even dreamed that it could be as special as this.


	35. Chapter 35

"Does this say 'my husband and I are going to a concert and we plan to look better than anyone there'?"

"How can you plan to look better than everyone there if you don't know who else would be there?"

"Do you think anyone there would look better than her?" Paige challenged, folding her arms and staring at Walter. She was sitting on his desk, her legs dangling.

"Uh..." he looked uncomfortable. Seeming to sense the answer Paige wanted him to give, he nodded to Linda. "No, no probably not."

"You still gotta work on him in the compliment department," Linda said with a smirk.

"No, you look so cute," Paige said. "It looks like something I remember seeing Kate Voegel in."

"Really?"

"Who?"

Paige raised her eyebrows at Walter. "You know." She bobbed her head rhythmically from side to side as she quietly sang. " _You'll be mine, forever and almost always, it ain't right to just love me when you can. Oh I won't wait patiently, or wake up every day just hoping that you still care_."

"Oh," Walter said, nodding. "I know that song." He wasn't lying. It'd played the night he decided to tell her that he wanted to be with her, and he remembered hearing the lyrics and being terrified that maybe he was too late. He remembered thinking he'd chosen a hell of a night to stop listening to the technical aspects of songs and start focusing on the words.

"Seriously, Lin," Paige said, nodding. "Adorable."

Linda smiled.

"I'm glad you guys get to go out, it should be a lot of fun."

"Are you two sure you don't want to come?"

"You and Hank deserve time together without another couple tagging along," Paige said. "Plus, we're expecting a call from Virginia and, you know, we can't have Walter getting too tired from tonight and not being up to going out for our anniversary tomorrow."

"I may have six different sets of stitches," Walter said, "I am still capable of doing things."

"That's just not your idea of a fun night," Linda said. "Understandable. I mean, when we were dating it became pretty clear our interests _do not_ overlap."

"What's most important is you guys get to go out and have a good time," Paige said. "Just you and Hank. Because he's only in town another week, right?"

Linda nodded, looking dejected. "Yeah. But he says he'll fly me out to Germany again." She looked at her phone. "I do need to get going."

"C'mere." Paige hopped off the desk and walked toward Linda with her arms out. "Go have a great time. And tell us everything."

* * *

Ralph watched Owen as the older boy's pencil flew over the paper. _Science and math, math and science._ That could be the tagline of his dad's autobiography, and as much as Ralph enjoyed the company of Sloan, Carla, and Haaziq, it was Olivia and Owen that best understood Ralph's intellectual side. And Ralph liked watching Owen the way he was now, completely focused, immersed in the math. He didn't have the natural talent for it that Ralph did, but he almost made up for it with his passion. "You know how much math was involved in saving my life?" He'd reminded Ralph once. "How could I not get dedicated to my own lifeline?"

"Walter and Paige's anniversary is tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"They must be excited."

"I don't really understand it," Ralph said. "They love each other every day. The word 'anniversary' just seems like a commercialized institution to get people to spend money on clothes and flowers and food. It's like, they already have Valentine's Day, they have to make every other day potentially the same thing."

"It's not that they don't love each other every day," Owen said, "but think about the code you developed a few years ago. Your bookmarks were significant days. Your relationship with Walter isn't only important on September 22nd, but that was the day things changed, in both your lives. Your parents aren't just celebrating their relationships, but the night things changed for them. Ralph?"

Ralph noticed the concern on Owen's face. He shrugged. "I understand that. I just..." He shifted uncomfortably. "I've never told anyone about this, Owen."

"About what?"

He pressed his lips together. "It was on what would have been their anniversary that my mom realized that my father wasn't coming home."

"Drew."

"Uh – huh." Ralph glanced at Owen's calculations. "She always tried to not let me see how she was feeling. She didn't want to scare me. Didn't want to make me sad. She turned the TV on, and pretended that the show was what was upsetting her. But I'd seen her cry at the television. I don't think she had ever cried like that before. Her body was shaking. She couldn't talk. She was making this sound..." Ralph paused. "I wasn't quite three, but I remember it like I just left that room. I don't miss my father anymore. But anniversaries still leave a bad taste in my mouth."

"Even though your mom and dad have had more than one already?"

"When something that significant happens when you're young," Ralph said, "you just get a strong feeling about it. Like you with math. And I was even younger. My mind was more malleable."

"I suppose." Owen hesitated. "Thanks, Ralph."

"For what?"

"That story."

"What about it?"

Owen smiled. "You trusted me to know it."


	36. Chapter 36

Walter was glad he'd gotten those restaurant reservations.

It had only been their anniversary for twelve hours – and they'd slept for the first seven – but between phone calls from Virginia, phone calls from Washington D.C., and several Homeland agents showing up at the garage, it was as if he, Paige, Ralph, and Sylvester had already worked a full day.

"This is even more of a hassle than when we broke into Fort Knox," Sylvester said, gesturing to Paige racing across the garage to answer the landline. "Or when the White House found out we'd bugged them."

"The President was aware of the bugging," Walter reminded him, "and no one died that day. This is worse."

"Mom, take it easy," Ralph said from his desk.

"Can't," Paige said, placing her hand over the receiver as she answered her son. "I'm sorry Agent Abbott, what were you saying? No, you listen to me!"

"She's tough," Sylvester commented.

"She has to be," Walter said. "She's the only one here with the skills to handle all these people. At least Cabe is able to absorb all the questioning and answer all the questions coming from Virginia."

"Neither you nor Toby have real memories of the incident," Sylvester said. "You'd think they'd just let it go." He glanced at Paige, who had her forehead resting in her hands as she spoke to the person on the phone, the phone between her head and shoulder. "You guys still going out tonight?"

"Oh yeah," Walter said. "I even bought a five hour energy drink in case I need help getting through it."

"You don't believe in that stuff."

"I'm not letting her down," Walter said. "She's been excited about this for a month. And I am, too. I'm not going to let some soreness and stitches ruin our anniversary."

* * *

Paige felt the zipper reach its way to the top, and she turned slowly and studied her reflection in the mirror. Pregnancy hadn't affected her complexion at all, at least not yet. Her hair had gotten thicker, though, and glossier, and her breasts were already fuller, making her glad she had just bought the dress the week before. At only ten weeks, she wasn't showing yet, no matter what Linda thought. This pregnancy was being good to her.

She should be excited to go out. Walter would come upstairs in a minute and she knew he was going to be floored when he saw her. She was looking forward to that. But the day had been long, so many people had shouted at her, and the idea of leaving the garage before the morning was exhausting. She had joked the previous day about not wanting Walter to be too tired to go out. The irony was as irritating as the day had been.

Through the mirror, she saw Walter appear in the doorway behind her, knocking politely on the frame. She turned, pleased at his expression.

He crossed the room, sliding his hands around the bottom of her ribcage and tugging her closer to them, so their hips touched. "You look beautiful," he mumbled, his voice low enough that no one would be able to hear even if anyone was around.

 _Heart eyes._ She slid her hands around his neck, smiling at him, her own voice barely out of a whisper. "You look good yourself, Walter O'Brien."

She bit her lip, and they stayed that way a moment, their noses nearly touching, just looking at each other. Then Walter tipped his head. Her eyes fell shut, savoring the slow, intimate nature of the kiss. _God, I love you._

"You ready to go?" He asked, his lips still less than an inch from her own.

 _No_. The tired feeling came rushing back, making her not want to open her eyes again. But she did. His eyebrows ticked upward – had she said it out loud? No, she hadn't, he would have spoken by now. But she knew he was picking up on the fact that she was hesitant, and feigning excitement wouldn't work. He knew her too well for that.

"I'm sorry," she said, turning and stepping away from him. She put her face up to her hands for a moment, then looked back. "I just don't want to go to the restaurant. We've dealt with so many people today, the last thing I want is more bright lights and noise and traffic and conversation with strangers and..." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Walter. I know you made the reservations a month ago and it's our anniversary and I should be so excited but _I don't want to go_."

There was a period of silence, and then he nodded. "Okay."

He was disappointed. She felt horrible. He'd gotten all dressed up. _She'd_ gotten all dressed up.

He shook his head. "No, I mean..." He walked over to her. "We shouldn't go if you're not going to enjoy it." Concern came over his face, and he lifted a hand to touch her cheek. "Are you feeling ill?"

She shook her head, pressing her cheek slightly against his hand. "Just overstimulated."

He nodded, then let her go, walking over to the window and peering outside. He passed her on his way back across the room, touching her shoulder. "Wait here."

Walter tapped his fingers on the microwave, watching the timer count down.

He was agitated. Every second that he was down here, she was upstairs, feeling tired and overwhelmed and hating herself for feeling tired and overwhelmed. He still wasn't the best with words; he knew he had done a completely unsuccessful job of convincing her that it was okay if they didn't go. She could read on his face how excited he'd been to take her out, and he hadn't properly conveyed that what he'd been excited about wasn't the restaurant itself. He only wanted to spend time with her. It was something he craved even though they were in a relationship, even though they were engaged, even though they lived together and had time to themselves on a regular basis. Tonight was special, it was about the two of them coming together, finally acting on their feelings, giving in and allowing themselves to be happy and fulfilled. They didn't have to celebrate that downtown.

The microwave finally beeped and he removed the food, covered the plate with another, and jogged back up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

She cocked her head when she saw him again. "Pizza?"

He smiled. "Come with me."

He wanted to take her hand, but knew if he did, he would probably drop the food as they climbed to the roof. So he ascended with both hands around the plates, only shifting the food to one hand so he could open the door.

Setting the food on the wall, he grabbed two folding chairs and set them up across from each other. Reaching into the mini fridge Happy had installed, he pulled out two bottles of water, offering one to Paige.

She looked happy, radiant even, looking at him as if he'd read her mind and planned something like this, as opposed to coming up with it on the fly. She took the water, settling in one of the chairs. He removed the plate from over the pizza, sliding a piece over to it and handing the other plate over.

They talked as they ate, and his mind was put at ease. She was smiling, laughing, bumping her leg against his playfully and, at times, almost flirtatiously. She wasn't feeling sick. She was tired only of people.

"You do look really nice tonight," he said again.

"I'm really going to be sad when this hair goes away," she said, twirling it around her finger. "It's all going to fall out just in time for Christmas."

"Ah, so you'll be forcing us to take the Christmas photo a little earlier this year?"

Paige looked thoughtful. "Nah. I want to take that with the baby in Sly's arms. We'll just stick me in the back."

She was finished with her pizza, and Walter reached over and took the plate from her lap. Stacking it on his own, he slid them both under his chair and stood up, looking for the radio Toby had left from the last time they'd had a post case party. He found it, and music floated across the roof.

"I probably should have turned that on before we ate," he said sheepishly, walking back over to where Paige sat. "But..." he extended his hand. "You want to dance?"

She smiled. He knew that smile. He was doing good. She reached out, taking his hand as she rose. He led her to the middle of the roof, and she curled her arms around his neck again. His hands came together on her lower back, and she rested her head against him.

Dr. Davis had been right, all those years ago. The first time he had danced with her, Walter had been startled by how much he liked holding her, and how much he didn't want to let her go. It had been confusing, to want to keep her near him and not understand why.

He was so glad that he had figured it out.

He cocked his head slightly, tipping it down to rest his forehead against the top of her head as they swayed. He heard her sigh contentedly, and then she lifted her head. He thought she was going to speak, but she didn't. She smiled, her eyes locked on him. His mouth curved up slightly.

When she did speak, her voice was a whisper. "I don't tell you enough how amazing you are."

Walter O'Brien was a bona fide genius, and three years into their relationship it still, especially on nights like this, seemed too good to be true. Paige Dineen was one of the most patient, kind, gentle, and understanding people he had ever met, she was beautiful and strong, she encouraged him to be a better version of himself, _and she loved him back_. When most people complimented him, Walter agreed.

When Paige told him, he believed her.

"You're getting a little sappy on me," he managed, cracking a smile, not really minding.

"Sappy can be good," she said. "It's our anniversary after all."

She raised her eyebrows, and he grinned, stopping the dance and pulling her into a hug. When he released her, they readjusted, sliding back into the dance.

"Three years," he said.

Her voice was soft. "Yep."

"Three years since the genius stopped being an idiot," he joked, and her lips curved upward.

"A lot has changed," she said softly.

"Not everything, though," he said, smiling at her as they swayed. "I still work with you every day. I still enjoy your company. Even when you're lecturing me on social behavior," he added with a smirk. "Still attracted to you...still think about what you might be doing when I'm not with you."

"You go home with me now," she said. "I like that better."

He nodded. "Me too."

"I'm sorry I wasn't feeling up to going out tonight," she said softly.

"I can't imagine this night being any better," he said. "And it's fitting, really. When have things with us gone as we planned, or as we imagined? But..." he tightened his arms around her.

"But it always ends with the two of us," she said. "Speaking of..." She bit her lip, studying his collar. "We're engaged, but we haven't talked about what comes next. I know it's too early to set a _date_ , but..." She shrugged. "Have you given it any thought?"

"Next year," he said. "After the baby is born, when we can focus on getting it right. When we have the energy for it to be exciting, not a chore. So I guess...no, I haven't thought about the particulars yet. Just that one day, not too far in the future...it'll happen."

She bit her lip. "I wish I could love you the way I want to tonight."

"Well," he said, " _you_ don't have any stitches."

She shook her head. "No. Mutual rain check. Until you're better."

"Okay."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Walter."

"I love you, too."


	37. Chapter 37

There was a pep in Walter's step as he arrived at work.

Paige was at a doctor's appointment with Sylvester, and as he was dropping her off, his phone had rang. When he'd answered, Happy hadn't danced around the point.

"Doc and I are coming home tomorrow."

Sylvester had walked up then, and the three of them had the most welcome group hug that Walter had ever participated in.

He unlocked the garage. Toby was coming home. His own stitches were about ready to be removed. Any minute now he'd get a text from Paige or Sly, telling him that everything was fine with Megan's baby.

For all his reasons to smile, Walter found himself unable to upon entering the garage.

Two people looked up at him from the couch. Ray wasn't a surprise – although he spent most of his downtime actually in the airstream, he lived there. It wasn't alarming to see him there.

But Linda almost never came to the garage unannounced, and when she did, she wasn't crying. Walter had seen Linda happy, angry, and terrified. He'd seen her on the verge of crying, once, the first time that she stood in this room. But it had made sense – she'd had a bomb strapped to her chest. This time, the tears were active on her face and he had no idea what was causing them.

"Linda."

Ray jumped up, speeding to Walter's side. "She didn't tell me details," he said, "she just wants to talk to you." He backed away, heading for the airstream.

"Linda, what's..." He dropped down next to her. Her hands were stacked on the knee nearest to him, and he wondered if he should grab them.

She let out a shaky breath, turning her head to look at him. "My marriage is over."

Walter tensed. He wished Paige was there. She would know what to say. And she would know what to say to Hank. "What did he do to you?" He asked. "What did he say?"

"I can always get you a plane."

He cocked his head. "What?"

"That's what he said. When he said his departure date got moved up. When he told me he didn't know when he'd be back here. When he told me L.A. wasn't where he belonged, he needed to travel, and I didn't have to worry, because he could always get me a plane. I could join him anywhere, for as long as I wanted." She shook her head. "Paige, she...the other day, she reminded me of that song. You know, Forever and Almost Always? I hadn't heard it in years, and I sort of realized, you know, that I was that girl. Hank loves me when it's easy for him. And..." She made eye contact with Walter, her eyes flashing. "And I deserve more than that, you know?"

He nodded. "He shouldn't have told you, though, right before he left."

"No." She shook her head. "He didn't do it. I just said, he wanted to keep doing what we've been doing, Walter. _I_ left _him_." She put a hand up to her mouth, the pitch of her voice going higher as she struggled to keep talking. "I didn't want to. I love him, Walter." She broke again, putting her hands over her face, her body shaking.

Walter hesitantly put a hand on her back. He usually got frustrated when he didn't understand something – not this time. He knew what it was like to love someone despite their flaws, what it was like to love someone when it wasn't easy. But he was in a relationship that met him halfway, one that would go beyond halfway to meet him if he faltered. He had no idea how it felt to love someone so much and have all the burden to keep it placed on one person. But he wasn't frustrated. He was glad he didn't know how Linda felt.

"If it makes you feel any better," he said, "I think you did the right thing. I think you promised me once that there was someone out there for me and if there was someone for _me_ , there's someone for you. You've always been a believer in that stuff. I know you love him. And...and it might seem that you'll never get over him, or that you won't ever care about someone more, but..." he frowned. "Paige did. On both accounts. I...I obviously wasn't there when Drew left. But it took her a long time to get over him. Me saying that you'll get over Hank doesn't mean I don't know what you feel for him. I-I...I mean I can't...claim to know what this is like, but...I do think that one day you'll be okay again."

She looked at him, sniffing and wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She gave him a small smile. "Thanks." She was silent for a moment, staring at her knees, then turned to look at him again. "Walter?"

"Uh-huh?"

She looked at him for a long time before she spoke. "Do you remember..." she wiped her nose again, taking a couple breaths. "Do you remember when we broke up, what I said to you?"

"You said that we would always be friends."

"Yeah." She nodded slowly. "I...I didn't mean it."

"I know."

"I was trying to just...prevent it..."

"From being awkward," they said in unison, and Walter nodded. "I know. I knew then, too."

"Well..." She gave him a small smile. "Even though I didn't mean it? I'm glad. That we are."

He smiled back, giving a small nod. "Me too."

She leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder, and he reached for her knee, resting a hand there.

They both jumped when Paige and Sylvester walked in the door. Walter looked wildly around. _How long has it been?_

"Walter, you didn't answer my..." Sylvester trailed off. "Uh...does anyone else hear Ray calling? I think I should go talk to Ray."

No one was really listening as Sylvester darted off toward the airstream, still mumbling about how essential it was he talk to Ray. Walter and Linda had their eyes on Paige, who walked quickly over to the couch. "Linda, honey, oh my gosh, come here."

She dropped onto the floor in front of them and pulled Linda forward into her arms. "It's going to be okay. I promise you, it's going to be okay."

Walter was amazed at how Paige seemingly understood exactly what had happened. She couldn't possibly know which half of the couple had initiated it, but she clearly realized that Linda's relationship had fractured.

Linda's voice was cracking as she spoke. "How's the baby?"

"The baby's fine," Paige said, releasing her and moving to sit on the end of the couch. "How are _you_?"

Linda shook her head. Walter couldn't see her face, but he could see Paige's, and he could tell by her expression that Linda was close to breaking down again. Paige scooted closer and slid her arms around her again. "You will make it," she said, her voice firm. "I couldn't tell you about most of the things in this garage but I _can_ tell you that."

Her voice was quiet, weak. "I just wish he loved me the way I love him."

"Someone will," Paige said, rubbing the other woman's back. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but one day." Her eyes locked on Walter's. "One day someone will."


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It does please me that several people have told me that they're getting feelings off of Linda when they never had on the show, because I adore her and I have her quite a bit in the remainder of this fic (especially now that she's going to be basically living at the garage). I hope everyone continues to like her and root for her to be happy.

Walter and Paige turned in early. They'd offered to stay with Linda at the garage, but she'd assured them that if she needed anything, she'd call her mother.

After Linda had headed upstairs to bed, Paige located the younger woman's keys and handed them to Ray, with a stern _don't you dare let her drive._

With the time difference, Happy and Toby's plane would land at about 10am, and they wanted to be there. Ralph was spending the night at Owen's, helping him finish his projects for school. It was a good thing, Walter thought as he brushed his teeth. It'd been a hard week for everyone, and Owen and projects were two things that helped keep Ralph sane.

And he hated seeing the tension that existed sometimes, between Ralph and his mother. He knew it went with the territory, but he hated the hurt in Paige's eyes when the boy withdrew from her, or when he snapped at her. Even when she went no – nonsense, firmly re – explaining the rules, or chiding him to be polite, he could still see that hurt.

Walter left the bathroom.

Paige was sitting on the bed, knees jutting out to the sides as she pressed the bottoms of her feet together. She was wearing an oversized tee shirt and was leaning forward slightly, her hands holding her feet, stretching herself out. There was an intense look on her face, as if she'd mentally gone somewhere else.

Walter braced a foot against the door frame and ran his hands over his smooth shin. His leg hair had been sticking to his scabs and it had been driving him crazy for days. That night, he'd finally just given in, put bandages on his wounds, and shaved the rest. "This feels nice," he commented. "I might keep doing this."

He looked over to Paige, who didn't seem to have heard him. "Pay?"

"Hmmm?"

"You seem to be off in your own little world," he said. "And that's usually me doing that so the role change is slightly alarming."

"I'm just processing," she said. "You know, a lot has happened."

"Uh-huh." He came and sat on the edge of the bed. "But Toby will be home tomorrow. It'll be a while before he can walk again, but it distresses me, him being so far away."

"Me too."

"And then with today..." Walter trailed off.

"It's too bad," Paige said. "That Linda and Hank couldn't make it work."

"But we...we knew he wasn't right for her. Suspected, anyway, once he started being gone all the time."

"It's still too bad, Walter," she said. "Not that she's gotten away, not that she _will_ be happier in the long run, but that she isn't loved as much as she should be."

"I tried very hard to empathize," Walter assured her. "I thought about when I was struggling with realizing my feelings for you. As much as I tried encrypting my heart, you always managed to crack the code. But if you hadn't felt the same way..." he shook his head. "I honestly probably would have been in more pain than the day I was stuck in my car."

"She really does love him," Paige said. "And we thought he loved her too...and he might, but she was doing all the giving in that relationship. He didn't love her enough to meet her halfway. And _God_ , do I give her credit for leaving him because of that. For all the strength I've had to have in my life..." she shook her head, looking at her feet.

He cocked his head, waiting for her to continue. She remained quiet. "What, Love?"

"I never actually left Drew. Eventually I realized he wasn't coming home. But I never called him, told him off, told him good riddance, tried to own the disintegration of our relationship as my idea. I just hoped, and waited, and hoped some more, and then I got over him. Slowly. And I'm really glad, really lucky, that you don't get just one shot. You know? If Toby had lost his legs, there isn't technology yet that will allow them to grow back. There's prosthetics, but they'll never be exactly the same as new legs. I let Drew siphon my love until every ounce of it was gone." She lifted her face to look at Walter. "But you _can_ get that back. Love returns. It comes back, sometimes with more strength and power than you had before. And I know...what I feel for you, I've felt it before. But not as much. And Linda...hopefully...hopefully her story will end like mine. Because she deserves to have someone look at her the way Toby looks at Happy. Someone who will hold her the way you hold me. Someone who will...who will keep her as close as Sylvester keeps Megan."

Walter scooted closer to her, and she leaned back, resting against his chest. He slid his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. They lay in silence for a few minutes. Then he thought of something. "What about Tim?"

"Armstrong?"

"No, Berners – Lee."

She craned her neck around to look at him. "Who?"

"English computer scientist. Invented the World Wide Web. It was an attempt at sarcasm," he said in explanation after she responded to his biography with silence.

"So, Tim Armstrong. What about him?"

"Linda."

Paige was silent for a second, and then he felt her shake her head. "No."

"Why not?"

"You don't see how that would be an issue?"

"Issue?" Paige had faced front again, and it was Walter's turn to stretch his neck around to try and get a visual on her face.

"Think about this," Paige said, tipping her head to the side. "Say someone's internet, whenever they tried to open it, caused some issue with the computer that made it restart. And it frustrates them, because they have stuff to get done. So they call someone to fix it, and they said okay, I'm going to give you dial up internet and your computer won't crash and restart when you access it."

"Why would a different internet plan prevent the computer from..."

"That's not the point. What would be the issue with that on the _customer's_ side?"

"They'd still take forever to get things done, because the dial up is slow. Same basic problem, even though caused differently."

Paige nodded. "Hank was never home. Tim is a SEAL. He'll never be around either. It won't really make a difference whether or not he'd want to be. She's going to have fears of abandonment now. And when he's gone, when he can't tell her where he is or when he'll be able to talk to her next, it'll be just like last time. Even if they hit it off, she'd always feel like she has to guard her heart. Just in case. Plus there's always the chance that something will go wrong and he won't come back."

"But you aren't like that. After everything Drew did, you don't ever doubt me coming home." Walter tensed anxiously after speaking – what if she _did_? What if, whenever he was on a job without her and stayed an extra day to finish up, she thought back to those nights Drew promised _he'd_ come home?

She wiggled, turning herself over and sliding her arms around him, her chin on his chest as she looked up at him. "Walter, no one lets someone they didn't know that morning play video games with their kid on their couch that night. Something about you showing up that night felt very like it was supposed to happen." She smiled. "Walter, you came home that first night. When I left that airfield, I never expected to see you again. Then you knocked on my door."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "If love strikes once, and one time only, all I'd have is broken dreams inside of me." - Katharine McPhee


	39. Chapter 39

The military jet came to a halt about five hundred yards ahead of where Paige, Walter, and Sylvester stood and began to taxi toward them.

"I'm nervous," Sylvester said. "And not the kind of nervous that I always am, you know, that wouldn't really be worth commenting on but this kind of nervous, it's unexplainable, like, we know Toby's okay, we know Toby is on that plane, why would I be nervous to see him? Paige," he said after his comments were met with silence, "he's not here to analyze me so I'm relying on you for an explanation here."

"Things have changed," Paige said, shrugging. "Things will be different for a while. A lot of what we know has been changing lately."

"You mean like how you're pregnant with my baby, Ray is back, Toby will be in a wheelchair for over a month, and Linda is sleeping in Walter's bed?"

"That just about sums it up." Walter cleared his throat. "The ramp."

"Ralph should have come today."

"He's been working so hard in Happy and Toby's absence," Sylvester said. "Walter hasn't been at full capacity, still isn't...Cabe is in Virginia...Scorpion has been you, me, and him the past week. He deserves to have an afternoon with Haaziq and Sloan."

And he'd taken Walter's injuries so hard, he might get upset seeing Toby unable to walk. Paige knew that was the extended, unspoken part of what Sylvester had said.

The ramp was completely lowered now, and they could see something moving along it. It was Happy, pushing Toby in front of her.

Paige suddenly found both her hands occupied by the hands of the men on either side of her.

The wheelchair hit the light, escaping the shadow of the plane, and Toby was in view, his hands in his lap. "Hey fam," he called out, smiling. Paige wondered why he didn't wave – it would have fit the jovial impression he was trying to put out – and then she realized one hand was bandaged and the other arm was in a sling. _God, Toby._

"Toby," she said, smiling.

"Good to have you home, buddy," Sylvester said when they got closer.

"Good to be back in sunny, sunny California. Walter, hey," he said, his façade softening a bit at the sight of his friend. "You look like you're all better."

"Mostly," he responded. "How do you feel?"

"Helpless," he admitted. "But Happy does a good job taking care of me. Doctors are saying that I need to go easy for a few weeks at work."

"Of course," Paige said. "You can't go out on jobs like this."

"I think I might just hang around at the house for a while," he said. "I can't botch my recovery. That'll push our plans to have a family back farther." He looked at Happy. "I love taking risks, but I'm gonna play it safe on that one."

"No responsibilities but getting well," Happy said, nodding at him.

He nodded back, smiling. "Exactly."

"You do have, uh, one responsibility," Walter said, clearing his throat. "One of the papers wants to do a story on us. So just email them some photo of you for it."

"Who reads the paper anymore?" Sylvester asked.

"Hey now," Toby said, awkwardly lifting his bandaged hand to run it through his hair. "Many important, distinguished people read the paper."

Happy lightly smacked him on the back of the head. "Ego."

"So," Toby said as they all began to walk toward the handicapped van that Walter had arranged for, "what'd I miss?"

* * *

"I can't believe Linda left Hank," Toby said, shaking his head. "I mean, once they got married we started seeing the signs, but..."

"But with the issues you and I have faced, and the tension between Walter and Paige in the past few years, you assumed that Hank and Linda would get through it, like we all did."

"Yeah." Toby nodded. "Every relationship has its problems. I didn't think they'd ever actually break up – or that she would be the one to leave him."

Happy nodded, pressing her lips together. They'd been given too many reminders recently about how quickly – and how much – things could undergo change. Sometimes the change was something that they had – or ought to have had – seen coming, sometimes things changed in a split second, without warning. But change always happened, even within the things that stayed the same.

"So what photo do you think should grace the newspaper?" Toby asked. The chair was slightly shorter than the chairs around the table, so he was reaching up slightly as he looked through the photo album Paige had given them for Christmas two years before.

"It doesn't really matter," Happy said. "Just none of the dirty ones from your phone, please."

Toby grinned mischievously. "Of course not." He spread the dozen or so from the album out on the table. "Hap, help me."

"Just pick one," she said from across the room. "I'm making up your special bed, remember?"

Toby pushed some of the photos aside. "Okay, I've narrowed it down. Come here."

Happy straightened up, smiling as she crossed the room. "Between these two?" she asked, pointing. Toby nodded. "Okay," she said, putting her finger down on the one on the left. "This one."

"Yeah? Why this one?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"You don't have a reason?"

"Well, you look sexy in that one."

Toby looked offended. "I look sexy in all of my pictures."

She rolled her eyes, still smiling. He grinned back at her. "Good to be home."

"I know."

"I see the way you're looking at me," he commented. "If I wasn't in this chair, this is the part where you'd slide into my lap and put your hands on my neck. But don't worry. I'm going to take care of myself, and I'm going to let you take care of me when I can't take care of myself. I'm going to do this right, Hap."

"We're both going to do it right," she said, dropping to her knees next to him and resting a hand, gently, on one of his casts. "We're gonna get you better and life is going to go on. This change, it's only temporary."

He rested his bandaged hand awkwardly on top of hers.


	40. Chapter 40

"Hey, uh, Leanne?"

"Linda."

"Oh." Ray shifted his weight awkwardly. "Toby made toast."

Linda was sitting in the middle of the bed, her knees up to her chest, her chin resting on them. She didn't care about Toby's culinary achievements. "Okay."

"He said it was 'one of many ways he can be useful while he recovers while not putting said recovery at risk'. And..." Ray held out the plate. "And they said you might want some."

"I'm not hungry."

Ray shifted again. "You have to eat. You can't sacrifice your nutrition. It will actually end up making you feel worse."

"You sound like Paige."

"She may have told me to tell you that," Ray said, waving his free hand dismissively. "But that's unimportant. You have to take care of yourself the best you can. It's hard when you're depressed, but those people out there...they care about you."

"It's just not that easy," Linda said, looking at him for the first time since he'd ascended the stairs. She didn't want to talk to Ray. She didn't want to talk to anyone. The alternative, of course, was sitting in silence, thinking of Hank, fighting the part of her that wanted to go back, to accept whatever love he could give her whenever he felt like it, because surely it was better than this.

She'd been sleeping a lot. Sleeping was her escape. But for some reason, she couldn't sleep today.

"You know," Ray said, "I was at the lowest point in my life when I met Walter. I lost people I loved, too." He shrugged. "It's not easy, I know it, but...but if anyone can help you through it, even if it's in an awkward, fumbling way, it'd be Walter. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for him."

Linda wanted to tell him that she was torn. On one hand, she took comfort in being at the garage. She liked it upstairs. It was quiet upstairs. On the other hand, she felt like a burden. Walter and Paige had a teenager that was less complicated to care for than her. Happy was glued to Toby's side, a hand constantly on him, asking him if he was alright almost every time he inhaled. Paige was carrying Sylvester's child and he was dividing his time between work and looking at two bedroom apartments. Life was going on, even though she was on pause.

But to tell him that, Linda would have to speak. And Linda didn't want to speak. She was so very tired. And so very relieved that the one person who didn't know enough about her to analyze any of that was the one that had happened to come up the stairs.

"Put the toast on the table," she said into her knees. "Thank you."

* * *

Paige was horny.

Between the accident in Egypt, the breakdown of Linda's marriage, long days at work, and welcoming Toby home, she and Walter hadn't been sexually intimate in nearly two weeks until the previous night. Neither of them were insatiable on a regular basis, and going the eleven days without any type of sexual activity hadn't bothered either of them. But now that they were back to it – and possibly because she was nearing her second trimester, when energy levels typically returned, Paige had been distracted the entire day at work.

"Cool off, Dineen," Toby had muttered to her as they sorted through files, in a rare minute that Happy had wandered to the other side of the room.

"What?"

"You're breathing through your teeth and every time Walter gets in your line of sight your pupils dilate enough that an eye doctor could probably examine your retinas without equipment."

She put her head in her hands. "Oh God." At least Toby was the most likely of the group to be able to tell how bothered she was. Sylvester wouldn't notice, Happy would be much more comfortable not mentioning it even if she did, and Walter and Cabe were _incredibly_ busy. Paige was glad that they'd given Ralph the day off to spend with Owen.

Paige was not so glad that the upstairs bedroom was currently Linda's.

* * *

By the time they got home, Paige could tell that Walter was exhausted. When they were finishing up at the garage, his shoulders were slumping, and he'd nearly tripped twice on the stairs, he'd been dragging his feet so badly when he'd gone up to say good night to Linda.

Paige wasn't exhausted. Paige was as keyed up as she'd been that morning. But by the time she put her things away, checked in on Ralph, and changed, Walter was out like a light.

She lay next to him, staring up at the ceiling fan. She could hear her own breathing, could feel her pulse in at least four different places. She wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon, nor would she be able to fix this herself. It was _him_ that she wanted – he'd put a hand on her back a few hours before and she swore she nearly levitated.

She got up and paced the apartment. That had worked earlier at the garage, at least until he and Cabe had returned from Long Beach and she'd become extra self-conscious of her eyes. _Dammit, Toby._

Paige looked at the clock. They'd been home nearly two hours. She turned on her heel and walked back into the bedroom, crawling onto the bed and shaking him gently, lowering her lips to his ear. "Walter."

No response. " _Walter_."

"Mmmm." He rolled over to look at her. "What time is it?"

"Not important. Let's do it."

"Paige."

"I know it's been a long day," she said, kissing his jaw.

"Exactly," he said, gently pushing her away.

She sighed – slightly embarrassed when it came out more like a whine. "Okay."

There was silence. Then, "are you okay?"

She sighed again – more successfully this time. "I've just been really one track minded today. I think it's maybe the pregnancy hormones." She shifted her weight – nothing was comfortable when she was like this.

Another silence, then the mattress shifted and he rolled closer, pushing her onto her back and lowering his lips to hers. She curled her hand around his nightshirt, wanting to keep him close.

He caught her other hand in his as it tried to go for his boxers, confusing her, then he moved their hands to her other side, placing hers firmly on the mattress and sliding his under the waistband of her sweat shorts. Her breathing quickened and she gasped as he began to work, the hand in his hair curling tightly around it. " _God._ "

She couldn't help but wish he would get his tongue involved, but she wasn't going to complain. Some might think this alternative to what she'd been thinking was weak, but Walter O'Brien didn't half ass _any_ part of their relationship, even when she'd disturbed his sleep. He might be too tired to get involved himself, but he _would_ take care of her, and the way he was kissing her, and mumbling to her, he was even being _romantic_ about it.

Walter had often, in the past, expressed concern that he wasn't enough, that the way he was made it hard for him to be the person she deserved. It was times like this that made Paige wonder how he could ever possibly think that.

"Mom? Dad?"

Suddenly, Paige was _very_ glad that Walter had only been using his hand. "Yeah, baby?"

By the time the boy had turned the light on, Walter had withdrawn, feigning sleep, and Paige cleared her throat loudly before addressing her son. "What do you want, Ralph?"

He looked concerned. "Are you okay? Your face is flushed."

"You startled me, is all. What's wrong?" She looked over her shoulder. "Walter, get up."

"Hmmm?" He lifted his head, blinking rapidly and squinting. "Ralph?" Paige silently applauded him for the act.

Ralph shifted his weight. "I need to talk to you guys."

"About what?" She scooted up against the headboard, pulling the blanket up with her.

"About...somebody."

Paige recognized the hesitance in his voice. "Somebody...important?" Ralph bit his lip. "Come here," Paige said. "Sit on the edge."

She watched her son come closer to her and felt the mattress shift on both sides as he sat down and as Walter scooted farther up. "Talk to me."

"Well...there's someone I like," Ralph said. "But I'm afraid that if I tell..."

"You don't want to lose what you already have," Walter said.

Ralph nodded. "Yeah."

"That's understandable," Paige said. "I think, though, if you care about someone enough, not knowing how they feel would be worse. You'll continue on being friends with them, seeing them interact with other people, maybe even dating other people, and that wouldn't feel very good. And the whole time you'll be wondering if that would be happening if only you'd told them. Sometimes, once you have feelings for someone, it's hard to be friends, whether you've told them or not, because you're always longing."

"I know it's _okay_ to like a friend," Ralph said. "But there's so much risk. I tried to calculate it but human emotion is impossible to put into an algorithm."

Paige could see the conflicted look on his face. "Do you want to tell us who it is?" She wanted to run her hands through his hair comfortingly, but he was fifteen and already feeling uncomfortable – he'd pull away.

Ralph dropped his eyes to his lap where his hands were folded, biting his lip. "Owen."

"Owen? As in..." She put a hand to her mouth, eyes wide as she looked at Walter. Upon seeing his barely contained grin, hers revealed itself a little bit. _Ralph likes Owen._ She and Walter adored Owen. She was excited about this. But she couldn't show it. Not when Ralph was so conflicted.

"Yeah." Ralph shifted his weight. "You're not supposed to like someone you knew when you were little."

"That's not true," Paige said. "You can like someone you met in preschool, there's nothing wrong with that. You only met Owen when you were nine."

"Yeah, but he doesn't like _me_ , I don't think."

"You know," Walter said, "I didn't think your mom liked me like that. I spent months dealing with that by pretending I didn't feel anything different for her at all. I didn't know she liked me until after my car accident. And you know how I found out?"

"She told you. I know. But if he likes me...I don't know, I wish I'd be the one to get told."

"It's scary to be the first one," Paige said. "But honey, I don't think you would lose him anyway. You guys are so close."

"You know what I think you should do?" Walter asked when Ralph fell silent again. "Talk to Happy and Toby. They were best friends for a long time before they got together. And you've seen how good they are for each other."

"Please don't tell him."

"We're not going to tell Owen anything," Paige said. "I promise. If you want him to know, it'll come from you. But I agree with Walter, talk to Happy and Toby if you want extra input."

Ralph nodded. "Sorry to wake you."

"Don't worry," Walter said, with a pointed look at Paige. "You didn't wake me."

"Night, baby," Paige said as the boy rose and crossed the room. "Don't forget the light."

The room was flooded in darkness, and the door closed firmly behind him.

They were silent, unmoving, waiting until the creaking told them that Ralph had re – entered his bedroom.

"Ralph and Owen," she said, rolling back over to face Walter. "Oh my gosh. I hope he tells him. I hope he likes him back."

She heard him chuckle. "Getting a little ahead of yourself, I think."

"I know. I know. And they're young, they might not even last even if they did get together but they're such good friends right now. They've got the kind of foundation that's important. I don't know..." she lay back. "I just want him to be happy."

"I want that too." There was a moment of silence. "Paige, about earlier, are you..."

"I'll live," she said. "You sleep. I'm sorry I woke you."

"Well," Walter said in a whisper, and she felt the mattress shift as he began to wiggle out of his nightshirt and boxers, "I'm awake now. Let's do this thing."

"Thank God," she said with a giggle. "I'm dying over here."


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is on the short side, I know, but I'm actually going to post another chapter later, and for a couple of reasons, I wanted it to be separate from this one.

Paige peered around the corner. "Linda?"

The younger woman was lying on her stomach, under the covers, her head smashed in the pillow. She lifted it and looked tiredly at Paige. "Yeah?"

"You haven't come downstairs in three days."

Paige remembered the day she met Walter, when he'd correctly assumed that she was working two jobs because of the condition of her skin. Lack of sunlight, he'd said. Perhaps it was more obvious since she knew Linda wasn't going outside, but Paige was still startled by how sickly she looked.

She sank down on the bed, laying on her side on top of the covers. "Linda, honey, talk to me."

There was a sigh. "I don't want to. I'm tired."

 _How can you be tired,_ Paige wanted to ask, _you don't do anything._ She held the words in. She knew depression was a nasty beast. Sometimes, just existing took every ounce of effort a person had.

She reached over and began to rub Linda's back. "Okay. Hey, so, with Toby out of commission, Sylvester and Walter have to go present some new computer technology to a professor at CalTech. I've been pretty tired lately myself. Will you go for a walk with me? Being pregnant, you know, I don't really want to go out walking by myself, especially since my legs have been a little weak the past couple days. Will you come with me tomorrow?"

Linda sighed again.

"For me," Paige said. "We don't have to talk to anyone, we'll just walk around the block then come back."

"Fine."

Paige smiled. "Good." A yawn overcame her as she spoke, and she put a hand over her mouth. The burst of energy she'd had the day before yesterday hadn't lasted. "Can I nap with you?"

"Mmmm hmmm."

* * *

"You have to tell him," Toby said firmly. "If you don't, how will he know?"

"I just don't want to lose him as a friend," Ralph said, shrugging. "I know it worked out for you guys, and for my mom and dad, but..."

"Walter," Happy said. "You remind me of him so much. This is exactly why it took him so long to tell your mom that he loved her."

"I don't _love_ Owen," Ralph protested.

"Hey," Happy leaned forward, putting a hand on Ralph's knee. "It's okay. Despite what you've been surrounded with at Scorpion, most people aren't in love when they start dating. I'm just saying in that situation, he was scared to lose her. What he didn't realize was how badly she didn't want to lose him either. That's why they work so well together. Every relationship goes through rough patches, but when both people want to stay, it works out. You and Owen have been best friends for years. He's going to be just as careful with your relationship as you are."

"That's not what I mean," Ralph said. "Walter wasn't scared my mom would say no to him. He knew she'd say yes. And that scared him because then there was the possibility of them falling apart. I don't know what Owen would say if I asked him out. I risk him thinking staying friends with me is too awkward. I don't want him to avoid me."

"When it comes to people you care about," Toby said, "honesty is always best. Tell him."

"But..." Happy held a hand up to her husband's shoulder. "But tread lightly when you do, just until you know how he'll respond. Doc here, he was relentless when it came to me. But I responded to that. Some people are uncomfortable with relentless pursuits. If you tell him that you care about him and he doesn't feel the same way, the best way to save your friendship is to ease off."

"But what if Owen is just scared, too?" Toby asked. "Walter and Paige agreed to stay friends, Walter eased off completely and she almost ended up with another man."

"Okay, you and I disagree on exactly what 'almost ended up with' means," Happy said. "But Ralph, you want to tell him. If you didn't, you wouldn't be so conflicted. And you're gonna keep feeling this way until you know, one way or the other."

She reached over and tousled Ralph's hair, like she did when he was a little kid. "This is a rough situation to be in, buddy. But believe me...when people really like each other, the reward outweighs the risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning (or a teaser, depending on how you feel about it)- the next chapter has smut.


	42. Chapter 42

Paige was sitting where two of the couch cushions met, and it was uncomfortable. She shifted her weight, scooting closer to Walter. "Do you think he's going to talk to Owen tonight?"

"No," Walter said, shaking his head and resting his feet on the coffee table. "He's helping him with his final, the high school finishes up in two weeks. He'll immerse himself in the job they have to get done and push his feelings aside until they don't have distractions anymore. Then he will get distracted by his crush again and will have to confront it."

"Or he'll just decide homeostasis is the best way to go," Paige said. "He's a lot like you, you know. That's why I asked."

"He's smarter than I am," Walter said, sliding an arm around her. "He'll figure it out at the age where holding hands is daring and no one is expected to know how to navigate a relationship."

"Do you think..." she bit her lip, suddenly, oddly, shy. "Do you think if we'd met when we were their age..."

"I don't know," Walter said. "I think I'd have been even more scared then. But maybe not. I hadn't realized how terrifying the world was at their age. To me, it was still just fascinating. And if I'd have found you fascinating...as I'm sure I would have..." he kissed her, "I probably wouldn't have initiated anything but..." he touched his lips to her nose, "but if you had, I would probably have gotten in over my head." He frowned. "Maybe we'd have moved too fast and fallen apart."

"We could have found each other again."

"But like I said," Walter said quickly, "Ralph is smarter than I am. And he's been brought up better. Better people, better environment." He smiled at her. "Better, uh..."

"Family?" She smiled, putting both hands on the side of his face.

"Yeah."

He leaned in and kissed her again. As she ran her tongue over his lower lip and chin, she realized he had shaved since the morning. "Mmm," she said, pulling back and running a finger over his chin, "were you planning on going somewhere?"

"Maybe the other room," he said with a _slightly_ mischievous grin.

"Is that so," she murmured, kissing him along his jawline again as he tugged her closer.

Sometimes, they never went farther than this. They spent entire evenings when Ralph was gone just holding each other on the couch, kissing and mumbling things. Words were still hard for him, but he'd gotten incredibly romantic with words during their slow makeout sessions. Once, shortly after their rough patch had ended and he'd stopped sleeping at the garage, he'd whispered to her that wanted to hold her like this every second of every day and the way hearing those words had made her feel _she'd_ nearly proposed on the spot.

"Come on," Walter said, twisting the bottom of her shirt between his fingers. "Let's go to bed."

"I like that idea," she said, grinning as he kissed her again. She jumped off the couch and grabbed his hand, tugging it as they walked the short distance to their room, as if otherwise he wouldn't follow her. Once there, she crawled up onto the bed and tugged off her robe, rolling onto her side as Walter pulled his shirt off and joined her. Grabbing her hips, he tugged her closer as their lips met again. His hands trailed up her ribcage, then back down to her hips, making her extra aware of her body. She squirmed, hooking her ankles around one of his calves. His knee came up between her legs and she rocked her hips against it, her body responding to the stimuli. She wasn't twenty years old anymore – even when aroused, it sometimes took a little while for her lower areas to really get ready, but Walter kissed her throat and ran a hand over her breasts as he let her ride his bent leg until he could feel that she was properly warmed up.

"I want your mouth on me," she murmured, even though she knew good and well that that's what he had in mind. She knew that he liked hearing what she wanted – and she hoped that telling him would get him down there faster.

Walter eased himself back up to look into her eyes, dropping to kiss her deeply on the mouth before rapidly scooting down between her legs. She reached over and grabbed a pillow, handing it to him and lifting her hips for him to slide it underneath. His lips planted wet kisses on the insides of her thighs before settling between them. Paige's eyes fell shut and she moaned quietly, settling back against the pillows and smiling. He tipped his head to the side and his hair tickled her, causing her to giggle and put a hand over her mouth as her leg jerked in response. He slowly licked along the left side, then the right, pausing in between to lick his lips, a _mmmm_ coming from him each time he did so. For whatever reason, she was more sensitive on the left side, so he put more of his attention there.

The first time he had tried going down on her, it had started out blatantly obvious that he had never done that before. She'd lain back patiently, enjoying the contact – it had been nearly ten years since someone's mouth had been down there – and loving the newness of being naked with Walter O'Brien – but he had no technique _at all_. Then something he'd done – completely accidentally – had been _so completely right_ that she'd nearly lurched off the bed, gasping loudly, and, like the genius he was, he repositioned himself and just kept doing _that_ until her whole body had broken out in a sweat, the sheets had twisted beneath her, and she basically had his head locked between her legs out of the need to keep him where he _could_ do that.

His confidence bolstered, the next time was more immediately successful despite still having a lot to learn about what she wanted. It was years later now, and he had completely mastered her.

He wrapped his arms around her legs, holding her still and down on the mattress, and Paige whimpered as his tongue fluttered around exactly where she wanted it. She curled her hands into fists around as much of the sheet as she could grab and threw her head back, lifting her hips slightly and pushing them against his mouth. " _God, yes."_

She slid a hand down in his hair as she bucked her hips against him, her head tipped back, mouth open, audible breaths coming from between her lips, slowly growing louder and louder until she was moaning every breath. She arched her back, twisting almost onto her side, and Walter followed her, continuing his welcome exploration and making her see stars as she rolled back onto her back and lifted her hips again, just slightly, grinding against his mouth. The entire time, his mouth never came off of her.

"Lay still," he said, with the smirk of a man who knew what she was going to say in response.

" _I can't_." She ran her hand back through his hair as her eyes closed. " _You know I can't_."

She moaned loudly as he pushed his tongue inside of her, pressing it upward and dragging it back toward him, repeating the motion and making her go cross – eyed. She put both hands on his head, grinding her hips against him. He placed a hand on her lower stomach, feeling for the muscle contractions that confirmed that she was close...and then withdrew.

"Walter," she whined, wiggling in place. He smiled, lowered his head again, and placed slow kisses on her before pulling away again – just slightly this time, his eyes meeting hers and a sly smile coming over his face. He stuck his tongue out, she could see it but he wasn't touching her. "Walter," she said again, agitated, and his name was barely out of her mouth when he suddenly placed his firmly on her again, tongue working furiously, making her writhe and twist. He placed his hand back on his stomach, though she felt her contracting muscles were so obvious he could _see_ them, and then she realized he wasn't feeling for that – he was reaching for her hand, which was resting just below her breasts. Their fingers linked as he closed his lips over her most sensitive spot and sucked, and moments later she was there, gasping loudly, almost squeaking, and she turned her head against the pillow as she temporarily lost the ability to move of her own volition.

Walter kept his mouth on her until she'd relaxed, then he slowly kissed his way back up, between her hips, her stomach, the underside of one of her breasts, until his face was even with hers. Letting go of her hand, he rested on his elbows, his thumbs massaged her nipples as he kissed her firmly on the mouth. She was still recovering, but his touch sent a shiver down her spine.

Giving her lower erogenous zones some time to recover, Walter kissed her neck, right where it met her shoulder. "Mmmm," she mumbled, grabbing his head in her hands and pulling it up to kiss her on the mouth.

They rolled onto their sides and she wiggled up against him, sliding her hand down his front, slowly, stopping at his naval and going back up to his chest. She slid her hand down again, this time a few inches lower. She repeated the pattern, reaching the waistband of his boxers. His hands were on her forearms; he was still kissing her, but she felt his body tense in anticipation. Sliding her hand down again, she stopped at the same point she had before, this time tugging at the waistband before letting go and trailing back up into G rated territory.

By the third time, Walter groaned in protest. " _Paige._ "

Paige wanted to ask him what he was complaining about, wanted to hear him say _touch me_ , but she didn't want to push her luck. He liked hearing what she wanted, and he liked just as much her ability to read him and know what he wanted without him having to use words.

But she stopped short again, wanting to tease him like he'd teased her, and then her hand continued down over the front of his boxers, fingers wiggling, and his abdominal muscles tightened. She ran her hand back up, then slid it down under the fabric. She pulled her hand back, spit into her palm, and frowned. It was an odd thing to be aware of, but she usually produced more saliva than that and this wouldn't work for even a second. Not skipping a beat, she slipped her hand between her legs, swirling her fingers, and then slid the hand into Walter's boxers, wrapping it around him and starting to move.

He grunted. His fingers had been lightly splayed on her forearm but they gripped her tightly in response to what she was doing. Every other guy Paige had been with hadn't wanted her to do this – they could do this themselves – and while she understood Walter's repulsive feelings about her using her mouth, she still hadn't quite figured out why he liked _this_ so much. Maybe it was because something so easy – something he _could_ do himself, was such a startlingly different experience when it was her, and for someone whose experiences of the world had been changed so much since she'd come into his life, that made things like this extra incredible. As much as he did feel pride in being a genius and being able to understand the math and sciences of the world, she knew when he was with her, he enjoyed being able to get out of his head and just be human. As she continued, his breath came in hisses against her lips.

He pushed her back onto her back, easing his boxers down and kicking them away. He hovered over her, kissing her once more while his hand wandered back down, making sure she was ready for him. Then he positioned his hips between her legs and eased forward, slowly. She wrapped her legs around his waist and, simultaneously, they began to move, their eyes open, their faces inches apart. Her mouth fell open and she gasped, her hands once again curling around the sheets.

He wasn't going to last long today, she could tell by the grunts that accompanied each thrust, a pace that was faster than they usually started at. She reached up to trail her fingers across his chest, circling his nipples, and she heard her name. He pushed her hands down, lowering himself so their chests touched, and his lips sucked on her neck and she wanted to protest because there would be visible evidence tomorrow but at the moment she didn't care. When he lifted his mouth to hers again, she eagerly caught his lower lip between her teeth, flicking her tongue along it.

His eyes had rolled back and closed, another sign that they wouldn't be doing this for long. Most of the time he had fantastic stamina, but occasionally everything was too much, and she tightened her muscles around him rhythmically, knowing that made him crazy and wanting to drive him over the edge. They both moaned in unison, him against her neck and her with her head tipped toward his cheek. She lifted a hand from the sheet to run through his hair and more aggressively moved her hips along with his.

He stopped moving then, panting, and he eased a hand down to stimulate her, working furiously, and she nearly choked on the air she was taking in when he did. She reached down and closed her fingers around his wrist. His breathing was heavy and she could feel him trembling; it was always easier for her the second time but this time he wasn't going to accomplish what he was trying to. He was too close already and she didn't want him working so hard. "It's okay," she said. "Go ahead." She kissed him, moving her lips to his neck, her body undulating under him encouragingly.

He began to move again, his pace growing rapidly more urgent, and he moaned loudly into her mouth, resting his lips against her, needing too much oxygen to really kiss. She tightened her muscles around him again, at the same point in their rhythm, and she felt his fingers dig into her skin. "Oh my _God_ , you feel so good," he grunted against her lips, something he'd told her before, something she never tired of hearing. " _Oh God,_ _Paige_."

Whenever it was clear he was finishing first, he got especially talkative. When they'd first gotten together, she had wondered if the extra talking, the compliments, had been out of embarrassment, almost an explanation to why he wasn't lasting, a way to justify not being able to get her off before himself. Now she realized his words came from a place of trust, of being helpless and wanting her to know that it was her that put him into that state. It was rare that she could take the control from him as much as she was tonight, and while her female acquaintances outside of Scorpion would stare at her in shock if she told them that she liked the rare occasion when he finished quickly, it was the truth. It meant she'd completely gotten him out of his head. And that he trusted her with everything.

And even when he was fast, he wasn't selfish. He was moving at the angle she liked best, his hand was stroking the underside of her breast – which was actually where she was most sensitive, and...

"holy..." she gasped as he licked her neck and then exhaled, rapidly cooling the path his tongue had taken and shooting a tingly feel through her body.

He leaned down toward her, his lips against her neck, changing their angle slightly to provide more friction for her, and she nearly yelped at the feeling that shot through her body. She was tightening around him more rapidly now, and his thrusts grew frantic, erratic, his arms starting to shake from the effort of not falling forward. It wasn't enough to get her there, but it _was_ too much for Walter.

" _Paige. Oh...oh...my...g-od_." His hips pushed forward a final time before he moaned and shuddered, his hips stilling for a split second and then jerking once more as he grunted again. She tightened her legs around him, holding him deep inside her, her hands in his hair. "There you go, Love," she whispered tenderly, nuzzling his ear with her nose.

She loved moments like this. Walter finishing first was his ultimate moment of vulnerability, losing all control when she still had some, and as he lay against her, all she wanted was to keep him close, keep him feeling safe. "I love you," she whispered, a hand pressed against the back of his neck. She tipped her head to the side, so her mouth was near his ear. "Just stay right here with me, okay?"

He grew heavy after a few minutes, and she patted his shoulder lightly, their signal for him to roll off. He eased onto his side next to her, sliding his hand onto her stomach and resting it there. She tucked a hand under his head, smiling at him, her face flushing again at the look of adoration on his face. Their faces were close enough together that all she had to do was extend her neck a bit for them to kiss, and she put her other hand up to his cheek, holding him there.

Then she removed her hand from his cheek and curled it around the hand he had on her stomach. Handholding was one of the first things he'd been comfortable with with her, and she liked prolonging the intimacy with it. She pulled their hands up to her face and kissed each of his fingers before linking them with her own and resting their hands on her chest.

"I have a doctor's appointment on Friday," she said. "It's at eight. Sly's coming with me but you're welcome to, as always."

"I should be able to," he said, squeezing her hand. "Providing that the thing tomorrow goes well and we don't have to go back down there."

"Oh, speaking of tomorrow. I got Linda to agree to go for a walk with me."

"Good," Walter said. "It'll be beneficial for her to get some sun. And some exercise."

He yawned, and Paige giggled. "Cuddle me?"

They shifted until his arms were around her and she had hers tucked up between their chests. Walter planted a kiss in her hair. "Good night, Love."


	43. Chapter 43

Paige was thrilled when, the following day, Linda met her at the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing for several days, but she had her shoes on, and she was ready to go for a walk. Whether or not she was forcing herself to go or if she genuinely wanted to was another story, but Paige figured it didn't matter. Being outside would be good for her.

"How are the legs feeling?" Linda asked as they exited the garage.

"They'll be okay," she said. "Occasionally my muscles feel a little shaky, but in the past it's just been I'm either coming down with something, or Walter..." she cleared her throat loudly. "Or you know, the pregnancy now, that, that can do it, too."

Paige saw the knowing smirk on Linda's face and decided she wasn't embarrassed that the younger woman knew what she'd been about to say. It was the first thing to resemble a smile that Linda had worn on her face since the day they'd seen her Kate Voegele outfit. Paige did, however, put a hand up to the spot on her neck that she'd had to cover with makeup that morning. "Sun feels good today, huh?"

"How's the baby?"

"I think good," she said. "I have another appointment on Friday. The three month. Sylvester is excited. She might start moving soon."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uh-huh."

"I know the baby isn't yours," she said, "so it's...it's not like you're having a baby with someone else, but you're still...having someone's baby."

"Uh-huh."

Linda stopped and looked at Paige. "It's not weird?"

"Walter loves his sister very much," Paige said. "And he and I have never talked about having another kid."

"I don't mean for Walter."

There was a silence as Paige processed what Linda meant. "You're worried about me?"

"Not worried, per se, but..." she shrugged. "I know Sylvester is going to your appointments, but you know that most of this pregnancy, Walter's going to be the one that's there. Odds are he'll feel the baby move before Sylvester does. Walter's probably going to be there when you go into labor, and when you're at the hospital, are you going to think _Sylvester is the baby's father so I should have him stand next to me and hold my hand and brush my hair back_? No. Childbirth is a primal experience. You're going to want Walter."

Paige wasn't so sure. She hadn't wanted Drew when she was having Ralph, and their relationship had never been better at that point. Her not holding Drew's hand and not wanting him to touch her hadn't been some sign that the relationship wasn't meant to be. She just remembered when she was in the depths of it, she hadn't wanted _anyone_ to touch her. But Linda was right about the rest of it. The baby was more likely to kick against Walter's hand before Sylvester's. If she had to wake Sylvester up to tell him that his child was on the way, Walter would already be up. If she was having Walter's baby, Sylvester wouldn't be in the room, but she already knew that when she had Sylvester's, both he and Walter would be present.

And if she really thought about it, the idea that by Christmas, she would have given birth twice and neither of those children would be biologically his, it was a very weird thought. But she'd known that before she began this process.

"It's a little weird, sometimes," she said, "but not overwhelmingly so."

"Can I ask another question?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you all refer to the baby as 'she'?"

"We don't," Paige said, confused, and then realized Linda was right. She'd used 'she' just minutes ago. She'd used 'she' when Sylvester was in heat stroke. And the thought 'Megan's daughter' had passed through her and no doubt at least some of the other's minds. The only time Paige had been pregnant, she'd had a son, and she knew she had never gendered Ralph during her pregnancy. "I guess I don't know."

"Okay," Linda said, shrugging and looking at her feet. "I was just wondering."

They walked in silence another block, Paige watching Linda out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't looking at anything but the path in front of her, and she seemed almost uncomfortable to be outside. She'd thought that the loft was just a place where Linda was able to exist, but it seemed as if she'd been finding it some great comfort that had been taken away when she stepped outside. "Linda, do you like it upstairs?"

Her response followed a pause. "It's quiet upstairs."

Paige understood. She liked the quiet.


	44. Chapter 44

Toby appreciated how much Happy and Walter and Cabe had worked to make the house wheelchair accessible.

It had been hard, at first, for Sylvester to see Toby in the chair at the same time as Walter was constantly wincing when he'd bumped his stitches. When Paige had suggested they go visit with Megan, he'd jumped at the idea, and while the two of them were at the beach, the others had gone to the Quinn-Curtis house and cleaned and moved until he could get around to nearly everything. Toby liked feeling like he could get around his own house.

What he didn't like was having to stay at home while Happy went to work. He was under orders – from doctors, his wife, and Walter – to not come to the garage every day. The more he was there, the more likely he would be to get himself involved in something he really shouldn't. His most severe injuries were to his legs, but like Walter, he'd had some head trauma. And he needed to take it easy for a while.

That didn't mean it was easy. Work was what made him thrive. In the past, work had been one of his only distractions from his self – destructive behavior. And Happy was at work. He didn't like spending so much time away from Happy. Even when they weren't actively working together, he was used to spending most of every day in her close proximity. He enjoyed that. Some couples went to their daily jobs and came home to each other at night and they were okay, some even wouldn't be able to work together. But he and Happy had begun that way, as colleagues, and he used to consider coming home with her a bonus, something extra. Now, while he recovered, that was _all_ the time they had, and it wasn't enough.

He wheeled over to her desk – she'd left their adoption profiles there. He knew they had to back off on the process for a little while, at least until he was walking again, but he needed something to do. He needed to go over everything, do some critical analysis, really figure out how to best present themselves going forward. That was the kind of thing he did best.

He opened the drawer and cocked his head – he hadn't remembered a manila envelope at the bottom of the pile, but it was slightly bigger than anything else in the drawer and he noticed immediately. Reaching down, stretching, barely reaching the folder, he withdrew it, pulling out the file inside and settling it on his lap. It didn't take him long to realize what he was looking at.

_Why has Happy hired a private investigator?_

It also didn't take him long to put the pieces together, and he bit his lower lip, exhaling slowly through his nose.

* * *

He jumped when she walked through the door – he hadn't realized what time it was, or, rather, how long he'd been staring at the file.

"What is that?" She said, her expression like an animal caught in the lights of an oncoming car.

"I think that's the question that I'm supposed to ask." He lowered the file back to his lap. "You're trying to find June."

"I don't need to find her," she said, "we know where she is. I just...I just think more is going on for her than anyone knows. Ray couldn't tell us much."

"Other than her name, her situation, and the fact that she will be eighteen in just a couple of months."

Happy dropped down on the desk chair. "Toby, I just can't shake this feeling. And I don't get instinctual surges like this. You know that. But somehow I feel like our adoption...what we're supposed to do...she's related to that. I've tried to let it go, okay? I'm used to letting things go. I'm used to brushing things off. But these past years have made me prefer holding on. And even though we've never met her, even though...I just feel like there has to be a way that we, you and I...can help her."

Toby looked into Happy's eyes. And he nodded, slowly. "Okay. You know I can't do much to help you..."

"That's why I didn't tell you. I swear. I wasn't trying to keep a secret. I just didn't want to stress you out. Or worry about me." She eased herself to the floor, kneeling next to the wheelchair. She slid her hands onto his lap, over the folder, curling her fingers around his own. "I will keep looking into this on my own. You just need to worry about getting well. I don't want you to focus on anything else."

"Getting well," Toby said, "and supporting you."


	45. Chapter 45

Paige settled on the chair, smiling at Sylvester as he studied the diagrams on the walls. He looked at them every time they came in, even though his eidetic memory had committed them on the first visit. He always had a smile on his face when he looked at them, so Paige didn't question why, even though she couldn't fathom the reason they might make him happy.

He looked at her over his shoulder, that smile on his face, then crossed the tiny room to sit next to her. "I wish Walter could have come today. He..." The smile faded. "He didn't not come because he feels he shouldn't...right?"

"God no," Paige said, "he and Toby had that commitment. They'll probably beat us back to the garage, though." She leaned over, resting her head on Sylvester's shoulder.

"Are you still tired?" He asked.

"I guess that's what's going to be typical for me this pregnancy," she said. "And helping Linda...I love her, but trying to keep her spirits up can be exhausting."

"I know what you mean," he said. "Ray seems to be the only one who constantly has the energy to try and help her, and I don't think Ray would run out of energy if all of us were bedridden and he was the only one to take care of us."

Paige gave a little laugh. Sylvester was silent for a moment, then drew a deep breath. "Do you feel guilty? Ever?"

She lifted her head. "About what?"

"Linda willingly left the man she loves beyond believe because she knew she deserved to be treated better. She's obviously depressed. She's thin and only showers if you physically guide her over to it. She sleeps for like, ninety percent of the day. Sometimes I feel guilty about being tired or stressed _because_ of her, because she has it way worse."

"There's this thing I read," Paige said sleepily, "once, a while ago. It was about this diagram that helped people grieve or deal with difficulty. The person most affected is in the center. Then there's concentric circles around that person. People closest to them are in the closest ring, people farther removed from the person or the event are father out. Everyone can be affected by whatever happened, but they can only vent or share those feelings with people in the same circle, or farther out. Like it is frustrating and discouraging when I sit with Linda for an hour and she doesn't even look at me. But it would make things so much worse to tell her that. But I can tell you, or Olivia's mom, because they're farther removed. You can't make the person hurting the most shoulder your pain, too, but that doesn't mean it's not okay to feel things."

"That makes sense," Sylvester said. "I just hope Linda gets better soon. She's such a sweet girl...it makes me feel terrible to see her hurting as badly as she is. It's like she's become a totally different person...this shell of her former self...and...I know you and Walter knew her former self better than the rest of us but...but she was..."

Sylvester was cut off by the door opening. Denise appeared, holding a clipboard and wearing a small smile. "Hello Paige, hello Sylvester," she said in greeting.

"Hi," Paige said, lifting her head off of Sylvester's shoulder.

"And how are we doing today?"

"Pretty good," Sylvester said, smiling at Paige. "Right?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. She nodded toward the clipboard. "How are things going?"

"Mostly well."

"Mostly?"

"Your bloodwork has come back with some abnormalities," said the nurse. "It may not be anything of real concern, but given the circumstances especially, have you experienced any unusual symptoms of late? Headaches more frequently than normal? Dizziness? Nausea?"

"Well," Paige said, "yes, but aren't all those things normal for pregnancy?"

"They can be," she said. "They can also be symptoms of a more serious problem. When did these symptoms start?"

She thought back. "I mean, they've been more prevalent in the past couple of months, but I guess it's been a few years. I've had occasional unexplained dizziness, but it's a high stress job."

"Your legs," Sylvester said.

The nurse raised her eyebrows. "I have had more frequent feelings of weakness in my legs," Paige said. "But it's been a few years since that started and it usually goes along with a fever."

"Do you get fevers easily?" Denise asked, her eyebrows shooting up. "You didn't mention that when we did your pre – implantation physical."

Paige felt as if she were being interrogated. "Again," she said slowly, trying to make her voice sound calm, "we travel all over the world, Bosnia, South Africa, Ukraine, even Antarctica, I mean, I didn't go that time, but those that did almost died. It's a fast paced, _high stress_ environment. I'm sure if you tested my blood on a regular basis over a period of years, sometimes it would look abnormal. Probably _most people_ would have certain days when something looked wrong. But _I'm_ the one under the microscope, and..."

Sly's knee bumped hard against hers, and Paige stopped, surprised at herself. Why was she being so defensive? She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. Yes, I get mildly ill more frequently than I used to. I have leg tremors, and the dizziness and headaches have increased since I got pregnant. The other things, they predate the pregnancy, but I've always attributed it to the job. I-I guess that's why I didn't bring it up...during the physical..." she trailed off, putting her head in her hands.

"Don't fret about it," Denise responded. "Ninety nine percent of the time, it's nothing. We're just going to try and narrow it down before we do anymore tests. Now," she continued, looking down at the clipboard. "You said that you do not have any drug history, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever been exposed to an uncontrolled amount of radiation?"

The question was routine, one of the "have to asks," and Denise already had her pen over the 'no' box, ready to tick it off.

Paige felt the blood drain from her face.


	46. Chapter 46

Paige and Sylvester drove back to the garage in absolute silence. He seemed to know that she didn't want to talk, and didn't even try to make small talk. She appreciated that.

Phrases floated through her head, _permanently weakened immune system_ and _increased risk of cancer_ and _damaged platelets,_ but what stuck in her mind, permanently, the whole drive home, was the look of absolute horror on Denise's face as soon as Paige had said the word _Chernobyl._

That, and the way some of the color had returned to her face in the form of embarassment as soon as she realized this more than likely explained her decrease in saliva production – a thought that Denise confirmed upon Paige voicing the thought out loud. Thankfully, neither she nor Sylvester asked how she'd realized that.

Then, of course they'd taken more blood. They'd run some more tests. But Paige could tell that everyone was certain what was causing her symptoms. Just as the question about radiation had been a formality, so now was this second blood test.

They parked in the garage lot, next to Walter's car – she'd been right; he and Toby were back already. She was grateful to not see Toby – or her son, _oh God, I have to tell Ralph_ – when they walked inside, because while she'd initially wanted to wait until she and Walter got home to talk about it, she realized she couldn't bear to deal with it alone for that long. She needed to tell him, needed to be enveloped in his arms, needed him to prop her up because she was mentally speeding off in more directions than probably existed.

He walked into view, and she bit her lip as he made eye contact with her, grinning. He looked just as cheerful as she'd felt, prior to an hour ago.

"Hey guys," he said as Sylvester walked over to his desk.

Paige cleared her throat. "Walter, I need to talk to you, right now."

She saw his face change as he processed her expression and tone. "Okay. Let's go over there." Happy raised her eyebrows as they walked past, but she didn't say anything. Paige silently thanked her.

They stopped in front of the fridge, and Walter leaned against it. "What's wrong? Is..."

"The baby's fine," Paige said quickly, knowing what he was going to ask. She took in a shaky breath – how was she going to get through talking about this? She wished someone would do it for her. She wished all she had to do was put her head on his chest and let someone else give the details. But she couldn't ask that of Sly, and no one else knew. She wrung her hands, hating the three feet or so that separated them but needing it to be coherent. "Today at the doctor, they, uh..." she swallowed, wondering if her throat just _happened_ to be dry. "It turns out that...because of the time I spent inside the Chernobyl plant, I'm, uh...I'm starting to show signs of..." she exhaled quickly, "of being affected by the radiation."

"Chern..." Walter frowned, shaking his head firmly. "No."

She nodded. "My salivary glands have been damaged. I'm not making as much saliva as I used to. They said that means I need to be really careful about what I eat from now on. And my shaky legs and fatigue...that's due to my arteries. They're...they're hardening. They know how to treat it when it's caused by, like, food or drinking but they're...there's not a surefire way when it's because of something like this. There are still so many unknowns surrounding Chernobyl. It's impossible to even figure out how much radiation I was exposed to. And it's probably why I've been getting mildly sick more frequently than before and..." her words were coming out in a rush, and she took a breath to compose herself. She was rushing - she usually did this when she wasn't sure how to say something, or when she was afraid she wouldn't get through it.

"No," Walter repeated, "that, that isn't possible, we, we had oxygen masks, we drank the...we'll get a second opinion. There is _no way_ that this is happening."

"Walter," she said, shaking her head, biting her lip, wondering why he was saying the oxygen masks should have prevented this when radiation was so easily absorbed, "it is."

She expected him to step forward, to pull her into his arms and promise her that it would be okay, that they'd get through this, that he was here for her forever. She wanted that. She needed it. She needed to physically lean on someone and the person she really wanted was right there in front of her.

The color had drained from his face. "This is all my fault."

"No – "

"It is," he said sharply. "I should have made all of us wear protective equipment, I mean, going to Chernobyl in our street clothes, that was my first mistake. And I should..." his breathing was ragged, erratic, "I should have gotten you out of there faster. Before the cave in, I...I should have picked you up and run, pushed you, thrown you, whatever I had to do to get you through that gap in the wall before it collapsed. And now this is happening, and it's...oh my god. I failed." He shook his head at her. "I just want to protect you, and I failed." He looked away. "I failed."

"Walter," she said, slightly frustrated, "it doesn't matter now. How it happened."

"Yes it does," he said, "I...I'm a genius, I'm the leader of this group, and I couldn't...I wasn't enough, I failed, I-I...failed. If it wasn't for me, if I had been better, then none of this would be happening."

"You failed," she repeated, feeling angry. "That's what's most important to you right now. That you failed."

"If I hadn't failed, you wouldn't be sick. This is my fault."

Paige felt a surge of something else, something she couldn't define, but it was _unpleasant_ and she couldn't stay. "You know," she said, "for all the things you've gotten so good at these past years, sometimes you still _really suck_ at knowing what to do."

She spun on her heel and walked quickly across the garage. Sylvester and Happy watched in alarm as she powered by them and out the front door.

Paige made it nearly a block before she slumped against the back wall of a gas station and burst into tears. Sliding down the wall, she pulled her knees up, resting her arms on them, her body shaking as she cried, alone.


	47. Chapter 47

The last thing Walter expected was to find Linda between him and the door, but she appeared as if from nowhere, blocking his exit. "Linda, move," he said, more fiercely than he'd intended.

She folded her arms. "Do _not_ follow her."

"Don't tell me..."

"Walter," Sylvester snapped, marching toward them with Happy right behind. "What happened?"

"Paige..." his eyes narrowed. "You know. You were with her."

"I'm not asking what happened to Paige," Sylvester said. "What happened _with_ Paige?"

"Uh, I'm a little in the dark on the _to_ Paige front," Happy said.

"Chernobyl," Sylvester said. Linda's eyes widened. Walter put a hand up to his mouth.

Happy didn't have a definable change to posture or expression, but those who knew her could see her reaction. "Not good."

"Linda," Walter said, briefly wondering why she was downstairs at all, "let me by."

"What are you going to do if I do?"

"Find her." Walter hadn't thought beyond that point.

"Walt," Happy said, "you guys have been dating for years. You know each other better than anyone. If she stormed out of here, it's probably serious enough that some reflection is necessary before you go after her."

"Walter," Linda said, "I've stormed out like that before, and..."

"Paige and I are not breaking up."

"Seriously, Walter?" She said, furrowing her brow. "That's not what I'm saying and you know it. I'm saying I know that if you go to her with the same game plan as whatever caused her to leave, it's not going to be resolved."

"Why are you even down here?"

" _Walter_!" Happy and Sylvester snapped at the same time.

The mechanic stepped forward, grabbing Walter by the sleeve and yanking him toward the stairs. "I swear to God, Walt," he heard her mumble. It was slightly difficult to ascend them with her pulling on him, forcing him to climb slightly sideways. He noticed Linda was following them.

"Okay," Happy said when they reached the top, letting go of Walter and facing him with her arms folded. "What went down?"

"Paige." Now that he wasn't in hot pursuit of her, his brain was focusing again on what had happened, and he was sure even those downstairs could hear his breathing.

"Paige is developing long term problems from when we were at Chernobyl."

He gave a nod, unable to speak at first. "She...her arteries...and she's got, um..." he couldn't think straight. "Uh...her immune system is...and her salivary glands are damaged and it's all my fault."

Linda walked closer and put a hand on his arm. "Walter."

"It is," he said. "I let us go there without radiation suits. I let her up in that helicopter. I didn't get her out of there before the wall collapsed and blocked the way. She was in there double the time she would have been if I had done enough." Tears leaked from his eyes – he could remember the last time he lost it in front of his friends but he couldn't remember if he'd felt this guilty and tormented since Baghdad. "I failed."

"Oh my God," Happy said. "Did you say this to her?"

"Of course," Walter said. "This isn't her fault. It's _mine_. This horrible thing is happening to her and it's _my fault_. I love her so much and I couldn't..." he pressed his lips together. " _I didn't do enough_."

"Walter," Linda said, shaking her head, "you can't do that."

"Wh...what do you mean?"

"Come here." She took his hand and led him over to the bed, motioning for him to sit down. "Have you ever heard of the Ring Theory?"

"You mean String Theory?"

"No, Walter. Ring Theory. How to deal with extreme emotion. Grief. Tragedy."

"There's a model for dealing with grief?"

"Not so much for dealing with it," Happy said. "But how you can deal with it. Who you project your dealing with it on to."

"I don't follow."

"In a tragedy, car accident, diagnosis, miscarriage, whatever applies," Linda said, "there's always someone who is most affected. So they would be in the center of this picture. Then there's the people very close to them – spouse, child, whatever applies, in a ring around them. Then come close friends and other immediate family members, then colleagues, for example. The closer you are to the person, the smaller the ring is that you belong to."

Walter nodded, staring ahead but not seeing what was in front of him. He was visualizing the described diagram.

"The idea is," Happy said, "you comfort in and dump out. The person in the center can say and do basically whatever – they can say life isn't fair, or this is the worst thing to ever happen, or it's hard for them, to whoever they want. The people in the next ring, they can do that too – to anyone in larger rings. But they can't do it to the person in the center. Because that person already has to deal with the most. They shouldn't have to deal with other people's pain too. That's too much of a burden. It's okay to be upset or feel guilty about what happened. But you can't dump all that on her."

"Just like, how..." Linda hesitated. "I know I've been a burden to you guys. But you haven't told me that or even led me to believe that. Because you know I need...time...or...or whatever, I don't even think I know."

"So you're saying..." Walter's voice cracked again. "You're saying I just made her worse?"

Happy and Linda looked at each other, as if silently deliberating. Then they looked back at Walter and nodded, in unison. "You made her feel worse, anyway," Happy said. "She needed you to be there for her and you obsessed over how you felt."

He continued staring forward, seeing nothing. He remembered the look in her eyes. He remembered her posture. Everything about her, aside from her voice, had been asking him to hold her, to tell her it would be okay. How had he read her so wrong? No – how had _he ignored her_ like that?

"I have to find her," he said, putting his hands on the bed on either side of him, ready to push himself to a standing position.

Happy jumped in front of him, her hands on his shoulders, keeping him sitting. "Not yet."

He was distraught. "What?"

"Walter, you're a mess." Happy sat down next to him. "Comfort her, yes. Do it later. We're here now."

Linda nodded, sitting down on his other side. "Dump on us."

He was confused. "But you...you're..."

She gave a small smile, shaking her head. "My divorce is a different issue. Different circle. I'm outside of you here. And I want to help. You've done so much for me."

* * *

As Paige put on her baggy gray sweatpants and sweatshirt – a slightly different gray – and wondered if she'd be dressing like this more as her pregnancy progressed. She loved dressing comfortably, but it usually wasn't in voluminous clothes that seemed to swallow her up. But they felt right tonight.

Once she'd composed herself, she'd walked, hands shoved in her pockets, not really having an end goal in sight, not really thinking about anything. When she'd returned to the garage, the cars were still there, but she didn't go inside. She didn't want anyone to see her until she could process everything more. So she'd gotten in her car, driven back to her apartment, and sat at the kitchen table until she decided she wanted to change into something that she could sleep in.

Now clothed in her shapeless sweats, she wandered out into the living room and dropped onto the middle section of the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her and folding her hands in her lap. The next time she glanced at the clock, it was forty five minutes later. She wasn't sure how much more time had passed before Walter came home.

Paige knew it was him when the door opened – Ralph had promised Happy and Toby he'd spend the night there, assisting Happy with Toby's extra maintenance. Her son still didn't know – and he had to be made aware soon – but she wasn't in the right mindset to tell anyone else today.

There was the click of the door closing, and then he spoke. "Hey."

She looked over her shoulder as he walked across the room. "Hey."

"Can we talk?"

"Sure." She looked at him only out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't make eye contact. She was too distraught. It had been a long time since the sight of him felt like salt in her wounds.

He sank down next to her, hesitating, opening his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but not sure how to begin. Finally, he sighed, loudly. "I was an ass today."

She shifted, not responding.

"Failure is difficult for me," he said. "And when it's not something that I can fix, it's more difficult. When I feel that I've failed someone I love, it makes me hate myself, because I...feel like I haven't loved them well enough. But," he continued, "I behaved...horribly today. I was so fixated on how what I was feeling...I acted almost like you should have been the one to comfort me. I managed to make this about me, and how I was feeling. And that..." she heard him take a shaky breath, "that was wrong. You deserved better than that."

She looked at him and was surprised at the relief that flooded his face when she did. She rolled her lips under. She wanted to speak. But she wasn't sure where to start, so she sucked in a breath, shaking her head.

"I'm here," he said. "To listen. Talk to me."

She bit her lip again. "Of all the things we've been through, as a team? Of all our close calls and near misses...we always make it. And there's never been lasting effects. And now..." she blinked rapidly, "now this isn't even something we can fix. Or reverse. This is something I'm going to have for the rest of my life." She wiped her eyes – and Walter caught her hand as she lowered it from her face. She looked down at it, struggling to keep her voice a normal tone. "And they said it's likely that as long as we stay on top of it I could live for decades. But I'm _scared_."

"I hope you know this," Walter said, "I mean...I know, that you know this, but I want to say it. Again." He cleared his throat. "This isn't all that you're going to have for the rest of your life. I promise you I'm here." He ran his finger over her ring. "Whether it's for another...another five years, or fifty. You told me years ago that we could get through anything if we support each other. And that's what you're going to get, okay? No matter what happens from here on out. No matter how impossible it feels for me. I'm going to do it. I'll...I'll be brave for you. And...and on days that you're weak, I'll be strong. Even if I don't think I can. I'll find a way."

She wiped her eyes with her free hand, and Walter reached over to help her, touching the tears that were on her face. "I'm so sorry, Love."

She pressed her cheek against his hand, closing her eyes. "Thank you."

Instead of saying "come here," Walter scooted closer to her, wrapping her up in his arms. She sighed, mentally drained. "So," she heard Walter say, "what did they say about treatment?"

"Diet restrictions," she said, "and for the arteries, they can do some procedures to make the blood flow better. They'll probably have to wait for the baby to be born to do them. My platelets are damaged which means my blot won't clot as well. But that's manageable too."

"Why didn't any of this come up in your physical?"

Paige had had the same question herself. "Who knows. I guess they were just looking for things that can be transmitted to the baby, and to make sure I wasn't on any...drugs, or something. I guess if you're exposed to radiation in utero, it increases your chances of being born with something already wrong. But people who were exposed to radiation and _then_ got pregnant, those babies haven't had any problems. And...and this isn't actual radiation sickness, thank God. Those symptoms would have popped up years ago. This is just...some damage. I don't know. Maybe that's actually worse. I don't know..." her voice cracked and she felt his arms tighten around her. "I'm so glad you're here," she choked.

"I'll always be here," he said, his voice laden with emotion as he rubbed her arm with his hand. "I love you," he said against her hair. "I love you so much."

A charley horse clenched in her calf, and she whimpered – it didn't hurt that badly, but Paige's mind began racing. She tried to calm herself down – Denise had said that one of the worst symptoms of living with complications from radiation was the mental aspect, the paranoia, the stress, the preoccupation. She'd gotten charley horses off and on since she was in elementary school. This was probably nothing. But...

"It's okay, Love," Walter whispered, and she realized she was shaking.

"I have a leg cramp," she said, shifting her weight slightly.

"You didn't drink a lot today," he said.

He was right. She closed her eyes. "You know, you've forgotten something important."

"What's that?"

"If it wasn't for you," she mumbled. "I'd have died inside the reactor."

"Paige, you don't have to comf..."

"I know," she said. "I'm just saying." She snuggled closer. "You didn't destroy my life, Walter. You saved it."

"If it wasn't for you, I'd have died there, too," he said.

She lifted her head and smiled at him. "See? We're even."

He chuckled. "Okay."

She dropped her head back down, her eyelids heavy. And in spite of everything, she couldn't help the small smile that came over her face.


	48. Chapter 48

Toby picked the movie – or rather, he picked what they were going to be watching that evening.

"You know I was beginning to think they were never going to get this thing filmed."

"Can't you just film it, like, while you're in the audience?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah, but they don't like that," Happy mumbled, half asleep.

"They don't like it?" Toby said with a little laugh. "It's _illegal_ , Hap."

"Like we've never done illegal things," Ralph said, shifting his weight so he sat criss – cross on the couch.

"I think someone did film it back in its first year," Toby said. "But it's great to have the official DVD."

"I didn't know you liked musicals," Ralph said.

"Happy and I watch them for the attractive women. _Ow_." He rubbed his shoulder. "You trying to mess up my other limbs, woman?" He grinned. "In all seriousness though, there's a good deal of intellectual stimulation to be taken from musicals..."

"You sound like my dad when he's talking about jazz music." Ralph looked at the Blu-Ray player. "It's getting late, Toby."

Happy sat up, more awake at the implication that it was time to help her husband out. "Yes. Ten o' clock. Bedtime for you."

"I'll get the bed folded out," Ralph said, jumping off the couch and pausing the television, the screen freezing on Thomas Jefferson excitedly throwing sheets of paper into the air.

Toby watched as the teenager carefully assembled his bed, securing it to the other furniture with the clamps that Happy had made. She was carefully studying his medication charts, determining how many of the three pills prescribed to him – to be taken at four, six, and eight hour intervals – were due at ten p.m.

Considering how they'd spent their evening, he thought it'd be too much of a cliché to feel helpless, but he couldn't really come up with another word. He hated relying on multiple people just to get through the day.

But on the other hand, there was one thing about this shift in dynamic that he liked.

Happy loved him. She told him, and he could tell by her actions, the way she looked at him, the way she kissed him strong and slow. But when it came to their relationship, he had always been the more open one. Sex was fast and intense when she initiated and slow and sweet when he did. He didn't mind. But since he'd returned from Egypt, she'd been careful with him, keeping her hand on his arm or the back of his chair, kissing his hand or his cheek as they sat together, brushing his hair back from his forehead when she got him settled for the night. He'd never been on the receiving end of such blatant physical affection until her, and in the past few weeks, it had been on a near constant basis.

He didn't mention it. He didn't want her to get self-conscious and stop. But he did think about it, and tonight, with the news about Paige fresh in everyone's mind – well, everyone but Ralph's – he realized he was missing her.

"Happy, please sleep out here with me."

Ralph and Happy both froze, glancing at each other. Then Happy looked back at Toby. "No, Toby. Not yet."

"Why not? Let Ralph have our bed rather than the half assembled bedroom for our kid."

"Toby," she said in a warning tone, coming over to stand next to him. Her voice dropped. "I can't. You know how I twitch sometimes. If I bang your legs, it could set your recovery back. You're starting physical therapy on Monday."

"That risk is minimal, Happy. I have the casts to protect me. And I just miss you. I want to hold you like I know Walter's holding Paige tonight. That whole situation, life's so short, she's sick, I almost died last month, I just don't like being out here by myself every night. I'm lonely."

"Hold on, what?"

The voice came as a simultaneous compliment to Happy's widening eyes, and Toby, after years of being the one to direct Paige's son to cover his ears, realized _he'd_ said too much.

They turned, facing the boy, who was standing just a few feet away, arms hanging limply at his sides, his entire body completely still. There was an uncomfortable silence before Ralph spoke. "What's wrong with my mom?"

* * *

Ralph didn't let Happy drive him home. He knew he'd witnessed an intimate conversation of sorts between them regarding the sleeping arrangements and he wanted to leave them alone. Plus, he could rely on a ride, even after ten.

"Ralph," Owen said, rolling down the window as he pulled up. "What happened?"

It was only a fifteen minute drive, and Ralph had been half hoping they could pass it in silence, but at Owen's question he broke like glass and blurted out everything, tears leaking from his eyes. Owen stayed silent, his eyes mostly on the road – he was a good driver – glancing over at Ralph from time to time. He let Ralph talk, without interjecting or asking for clarification. He let Ralph explain in the way Ralph was best able to. Ralph appreciated that.

"They said that she'll be okay...at least for a while...as long as they treat her symptoms but..." Ralph choked on his own tears, putting a hand over his face. "I can't lose her, Owen."

He felt Owen's hand cover the one still resting on his leg. "It'll be okay," he said. "You guys are the smartest in the world, you know."

"We can't fix this," Ralph said. "This is f..." he trailed off, blinking rapidly at the word he nearly put in front of _radiation._ Sure, all the kids at his old university said it. But he never had. "This is radiation, Owen. We all learned about Chernobyl at school. And now my _mom_..." he trailed off, his hand now covering his mouth.

"Ralph."

Owen squeezed his hand. "Let it out."

"Two hands on the wheel."

The older boy rolled his eyes, pulling off to the side of the road and easing the car to a stop. "There," he said, putting it in park and reaching over to close Ralph's hand between both of his. "Safety first. Now go ahead."

Ralph pulled their pile of hands up to his face and cried until he didn't think his eyes could make any more tears. Then he gasped, startled at how crying dry actually hurt. "I can't go home now," he said. "She'll know."

Owen released his hands, returning them to the wheel. "Come on. There's a gas station up here. They should have a bathroom." As he pulled back out onto the road, nodding as he spotted the gas station in the distance, he glanced at Ralph. "What about the baby?"

"They don't anticipate any problems."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah."

The men's room was busy, and the women's was out of paper towels. "You got any quarters?" Owen asked, looking at the dispensers on the walls. Ralph fished them out of his pocket, and Owen dropped them into the slots, unwrapping the contents and sticking one under the water. "Whoa," he said, dropping the first one.

"What?" Ralph asked.

Owen was staring at the tampon. "I didn't realize they got bigger."

Ralph rolled his eyes and took the second one from Owen's other hand, holding it under the sink and then using it to dab his eyes. He studied himself in the mirror. His eyes were red – but a little less puffy. "She's still going to know."

"Just give it a few minutes," Owen said fishing the first tampon out of the sink and frowning. "Can these be flushed?" Without waiting for an answer, he dropped it into the trash can next to the toilet, playing it safe. "I guess it's good we came in here," he said. "What this place has in the men's restroom dispensers would not have helped."

Ralph laughed in spite of himself. "Okay," he said, nodding at his reflection in the mirror. "I think I'll be okay by the time I get back. The lights will probably be off, anyway." He looked over at Owen, a small smile coming over his lips. "Thank you."

He stepped close and pulled Ralph into a hug. "I'm here for you. Anytime. Okay?"

Ralph sighed gratefully. "I know."

* * *

When Ralph opened the front door, he was surprised to find some of the lights still on. He wandered into the living room, searching for his parents.

He found them on the couch. His dad was flat on his back, his head up on the armrest, and his mom was stretched out on top of him, wearing the baggy sweats that she'd almost gotten rid of the year before – after the month of tension that they didn't like to talk about – because she never used them. Ralph couldn't help but smile – just a little, at how, even asleep, his dad's fingers were linked in the small of his mom's back.

Ralph dropped down in front of them after easing the coffee table away. Neither stirred. He placed his hand on Paige's shoulder. "Mom," he said in a whisper. "Mom, I know about the radiation." He bit his lip. He did want to say this to her when she was awake, but words were still hard for him sometimes, especially when he was extremely emotional. It was good, he figured, to have this trial run. "I know I'm still your little boy, but...but I'm fifteen. Happy and Toby and Sly were basically on their own by then...I can be an adult. And if...if you need anything, Mom...I can take care of you." He leaned over, rising higher on his knees to reach her cheek, kissing it gently. "I love you. Every day."

"Mmmm."

Ralph jumped as Walter's eyes slowly opened and looked at him, taking a moment to focus. "Ralph."

"I, uh...I was just..."

"I heard," he said, sounding sleepy. There was a silence as they regarded each other, and then Walter cleared his throat. "I've said it before, Ralph."

"What?"

A warm smile came over his dad's face. "That you're smarter than me."


	49. Chapter 49

Paige didn't like being vulnerable.

That dislike was a trait that was more often attributed to Walter, with good reason. Walter was still – and probably always would be – learning about his emotional capabilities and processing them. He was as vulnerable as a person could be with her, he trusted her completely, but it was different around other people. Paige was beginning to understand that discomfort. Everyone at the garage knew now that she was permanently affected by radiation and in the ten minutes she'd been in the garage she'd gotten more sympathetic looks than she could count from Sylvester and Cabe alone. She was torn between being touched that they cared – and she knew they did, so much – and wishing that she wasn't the subject of such sympathy.

Paige reached the ground floor – Linda wasn't upstairs when Paige climbed up to check on her – and wandered into the kitchen. She selected a piece of fruit from the bowl and headed for her desk.

"Hey," Happy said, suddenly appearing at her side. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, thrown off. "I mean, I've obviously been better. But..."

"Look, I'm really sorry about Ralph finding out at our place last night," she said. "We should have been more considerate."

Paige smiled. "It's okay, Happy," she said. Truth be told, it did irritate her that her son had to find out the way he had. But it happened, and she'd woken up to big hugs from both her boys, and she didn't want to focus on the circumstances under which Ralph had learned of her diagnosis. "Honestly, I was dreading telling him myself."

"Hey, so, uh...how has Walt been? He a little...more sensitive last night, or..."

Paige smiled. Happy was quite easy to read, sometimes. "You talked to him yesterday, didn't you?"

"I just know what it's like to support someone going through a hard time," she said. "And Toby is starting physical therapy soon and I'll have to be there for him again. I don't mind. We've taken turns propping each other up."

Paige knew it was different with her and Walter. While on jobs, they had each other's back. She'd saved his life, he'd saved hers, and on a plethora of occasions it was their teamwork that made it so neither of them had to protect the other. But when it came to their home life, most of the work, had, so far, been hers. She was long since over Drew, over her destroyed relationship with her parents, and she effortlessly fit into the day to day world. Walter, for all his improvements, for all his willingness to learn, still struggled with that. And there were still times his grief over his sister overwhelmed him. Emotional support had always been her strong suit, and it was something she always willingly gave. She knew she hadn't been wrong being upset with Walter the previous day, wanting comfort without having to provide it. But with the initial shock now behind her, Paige couldn't help but want to focus on him and Ralph.

"He almost started crying on the way to work today," she said without stopping to think about if she really wanted to share.

Happy cocked her head. "Why?"

"That song came on," she said, "you know, ' _everybody needs a place, somewhere that's warm and safe, a shelter from this crazy world we're in, but tonight I let the rain inside and took away your place to hide, I'm sorry that I made you cry again_.' Yeah," she said, "he started doing that frantic glance at me and then I saw him put a hand up to his eyes a few times. Then he apologized for me having to see him sad." She sighed. "I was mad at him yesterday and he deserved it he struggles with this kind of thing. We're each other's safe spaces and I can't do this unless he's strong for me but he's fighting one of his biggest weaknesses to do so." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This is something both of us will have to get used to."

"Look, I know it's hard for him," Happy said. "But it's not your job to baby him right now. You want to put your own needs aside for Ralph, cool, that's admirable. But Walter's a big boy. You dump how you feel on him all you want. He relies on you for things relating to Megan, his parents, he doesn't understand some social cue, fine. But he's got people he can break on when it comes to this."

"I know. Hey, where's Linda? She wasn't upstairs when we got here."

"She was being subjected to some pep talk from Ray and now she's on the roof getting some fresh air." Happy said. "He's decided that his way of paying rent is driving Sly to the beach to see Megan, throwing out overly dramatic inspirational speeches for Linda, and driving Toby to his PT because apparently he doesn't want me to see him early on in it. Like I'm not already completely aware of how weak he is. Like I don't already help him into bed each night and like I didn't basically teach him how to pee sitting down. But nope. He told me he was starting it on Monday but turns out it's today, when I absolutely cannot go with him because I have to be here to test this new prototype."

"You remember when Walter was in his car accident," Paige said, "he refused to see any of us when he was in the hospital. I'm sure Toby wants to get stronger and then surprise you with how far he's come. I don't think there was any poor intent in him wanting to go alone the first time."

"Yeah. I know that. It's just annoying." Happy cleared her throat, looking down at Paige's abdomen. "So, the radiation shouldn't affect the baby, at least."

"No, it shouldn't," Paige said. "And right now, at least, there shouldn't be too many symptoms on my side, either. I'll alter my diet, which should help the salivary gland production. I'll be continuing to deal with muscle weaknesses and my platelets are damanged which means if I cut myself or something my blood won't clot as easily but basically..."

"Hey," Happy snapped, her tone suddenly tense. "I know what the symptoms are." She raised her eyebrows. "I'm a genius, remember?" She turned, heading for her desk. "I gotta text Ray and find out how the doc is doing."

Paige watched her go, startled.

* * *

 Toby looked down. Now that he was standing up, for the first time in a month, he was suddenly very aware of how small his legs looked.

He wasn't a runner – except from bullies – or a horseback rider, or anyone that might be expected to have well-muscled legs. But a month of atrophy would affect even a pro athlete, and Toby's fitness level prior to Egypt was only average. Now, his legs (what he could see of them anyway, one was almost still completely encased in the cast) looked like skinny white noodles – weak and flimsy. The little exercises he'd been able to do at home, in the chair or in bed, didn't compare to actually walking.

His physical therapist knew what he was doing. The parallel bars were six inches away from where his armrests were positioned. And when he'd stood, the therapist had braced against his better leg, supporting Toby slightly as he got comfortable.

Now, he was supposed to walk. But not walk exactly. He was only going to be strengthening his one leg for the first few weeks. His left leg, with its broken femur, was not ready to bear weight. So he'd reach out with his hands, swing forward, then repeat to the end of the parallel bars, turn toward his good side, and then come back.

His therapist was standing just behind him, his hand on the gait belt that would be used for support should Toby wobble. "Okay, Toby," he said. "Swing to."

Toby placed his hands forward and shifted forward, his hips coming between his hands. He repeated the motion one, two, three times, surprised at how tired he was getting in spite of his knowledge of injury and recovery. By the time he reached the end of the bars, his arms were shaking and his 'good' leg was feeling anything but. His center of gravity was off and he was starting to feel dizzy. "Uh..."

"You alright there?" Spencer asked, his hand tightening on the gait belt.

"Uh...maybe..."

"Stop and rest for a second," Spencer said calmly. "You're alright."

Toby puffed out his cheeks as he blew out a heavy breath. _Focus_. His eyes fell closed, and he counted to ten. When he opened them again, he felt more centered. Turning to the right – his strong side – he pivoted, taking a moment again before moving haltingly back down the parallel bars to the chair.

"Okay," Spencer said, "now just put out your weak leg, yes, like that, rest on the heel, and bend your elbows..." he reached out, providing support as Toby eased back down into the chair. "There you go. You are on your way to walking again."


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has EXPLICIT smut, so if you're not into that, know Happy is worried about something relating to Grace, and Quintis does sexy things. ;P

“What’s eating you, Happy?”

She hadn’t realized how long she’d been staring at the photograph of her mother until Toby spoke, and she realized she’d been in the process of tucking him in for nearly five solid minutes.  The sheet was still in her hand, and she shook her head as she lay it over him.  He was doing well at his physical therapy.  There was no need to stress him out with the worry she was feeling.  “Sorry.  I’m just...thinking.”

“I’m thinking too,” he said.  “About you.  About...” he bit his lip.

“Toby, no,” she said, shaking her head.  She knew what he was thinking about.  She was thinking about the same thing, whenever she could get her mind off of Paige and the aspect of her diagnosis that made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Come on, Hap,” he said gently, running a hand along her jaw.  “You’ve been taking such good care of me.  Let me take care of you.”

“You know how much you move,” she said.  “I won’t have you re-injuring your legs.”

“We don’t have to be wild,” he said, tugging her down next to him.  Happy saw his smile when he succeeded and realized that he never could have pulled her down if she didn’t want to go, not in his current physical state.  Her brain was telling her _no, not yet_ , but something else was giving her different instructions.  She craved intimacy with Toby, to the point where _wild_ wasn’t even a word in her current vocabulary.  “Just...”

He kissed her, gently running a hand through her hair.  She put a hand on his chest, pushing his back against the mattress, not wanting him twisting.  She lay halfway across his chest, and he slid his arms around her – oh god it felt good to be in his arms again – and she kissed him tenderly, sweetly, not her usual move when she was in a position of dominance but considering the circumstances of the last month, it was all she wanted.  She could have lost him.  He was going to make a full recovery.  He was – she was – _they were_ lucky.

They kissed for what could have been all night; Happy had no idea how much time passed before Toby’s hand ran down over her hips and between her legs, still kept apart from her skin by her clothing.  But when his fingers pressed against her and her hips involuntarily thrust against them, she wanted the clothing off.  She wanted all of it off.

“Toby...” his name turned into a low moan as his fingers rubbed her vigorously through her clothes and she panted, grinding her hips against them.

“Crawl up here, sweetheart,” He said, tugging at her leggings.  “Take these off and come up here.”

She didn’t protest, shedding all her clothing from the waist down and scooting up, lowering herself, aided by his hands on her hips.  He normally teased her, kissing her thighs or stomach before zeroing in, that she yelped when she immediately felt his tongue exactly where she usually ended up begging him to go.

She bit her lip, closing her eyes and trying to regulate her breathing, but as always, the effort was completely futile.   The sensations he was furiously working to create were too much and she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and pushing her hips down against him.  He gripped her hips more tightly with his fingers, pressing against her skin, his tongue pushing deeper inside while his lips rubbed against her. She leaned forward, supporting her upper body on her forearms, and panted.  “ _God_...”

She was a moaner – she always had been – and she knew Toby was eternally delighted by that.   When they’d first began their sexual relationship, she’d been a bit self – conscious.  Now she didn’t care in the slightest, but she was slightly more aware than usual of just how loud she was being tonight.  For a couple as active as they were, it had just been _so long_.

He tipped his head, his mouth locked around her clit, and swirled his tongue around it.  She nearly collapsed forward, a whine escaping her lips as his tongue continued to tease her.  She could feel him smile against her, and then his fingers were there too, rubbing her for a moment before two pushed inside her, his mouth still suctioned around where she was most sensitive.

“ _Oh_ my...” she began to thrust against his fingers, leaning forward enough that she rubbed hard against his mouth, and he kept sucking, moaning himself at the force upon which she was pushing on him.  It was nearly impossible to stay quiet when he had her this sensitive, but tonight that didn’t matter.  They weren’t having a secret go at each other behind the airstream.  The neighbors’ lights had been out all evening – they weren’t home.  She was moaning with every rapidly repeating breath, each one louder than the last, and it didn’t matter.  The only one within earshot was her husband, and she was glad of that, because she could tell by the building sensations he was creating that she was going to come _hard_.

She sat up, rocking her hips and sliding her hands under her shirt, surrounding her breasts and kneading them forcefully, her thumbs and the sides of her pointer fingers pinching around her nipples as she threw her head back.  The double stimulation always increased the intensity of her orgasms, and, understanding she was seconds away, Toby’s tongue increased the pace and ferocity of its motions.

She cried out, loudly, and leaned forward again, keeping herself  against Toby’s mouth as she rode it out, feeling his mouth widen, his lips closing around more of her, his tongue lapping at her lower lips.  “Oh my god,” she whispered, breathless.  “Oh my god.”

When the last pleasant shivers had dissipated, she lifted off him and scooted down so her knees were on either side of his hips and she could look down at him.  Toby smiled up at her, love brimming from his eyes in a way that used to terrify her – but now she didn’t think she could live without it.  Bending both elbows, she leaned down to kiss him.

“I love you, Happy,” he mumbled, reaching a hand up to push her hair back.  It immediately fell back into place, but she knew he’d done it more for the gesture.

“I know you’re always good to go after doing that,” she said with a smile, sliding a hand under his waistband.  “Uh – _huh_ ,” she said triumphantly, kissing his neck.  “Your turn, doc.”

She helped steady him as he shifted his hips enough to tug down his pants and underwear to his knees.  She lowered her head, licking slowly upward.  Smiling over at him, and settling into a more comfortable position, Happy wrapped her lips around his head, pointing her tongue and running it around him.

She was pleased at the low, long groan that came from Toby, and she slowly lowered her head, taking him in, squeezing her thumb with her fingers as her lips reached the base of him.  She moved back up just as slowly, hearing him groan again.  “Happy...”

She kept going, slowly, rubbing her tongue against him as her head moved up and down, and one of her hands slid to his balls, rubbing them with her thumb.   Pleased at the reactionary sound she got, she pumped her head up and down more vigorously.  After another minute, she began to focus at his tip again, locking her lips, her tongue circling him, her hand still working its way up.

She felt his hand in her hair, saw his abs clench, and heard another loud groan.  “Happy, dear _God_ , _Happy_...”

She removed her mouth, letting her upper lip lightly run along him as she lowered her head more, her lips pulling at his balls, tracing the oval created where they met her lips with her tongue.  It was a difficult thing to do at the angle she had to work with – staying away from his legs, but she balanced on her arms, glad they weren’t the limbs currently on the shaky side.  Placing her mouth between his balls and his base, she sucked, and he made a sharp sound from deep in his throat, a sound followed by her name and a warning that he was close.  Smiling to herself, she licked back up him again before replacing her mouth and moving up and down more rapidly than before.  She could see his muscles clenching and rapidly flicked her tongue around his head, knowing him well enough to time when he’d finish, just replacing her lips around him, gently, as he did, groaning loudly, his hips twitching.

She kept him in her mouth as he came down from it, tongue moving gently.  She swallowed and released him, slowly working her way back up his body, unable to leave the trail of kisses that she wanted because they were both still clothed above the waist.  She reached his neck and placed her lips there, a finger massaging his nipple over his shirt as she leaned down to kiss him again.

“God damn, Happy,” he said, his pupils still dilated and what she could see of his skin flushed.  “You’re amazing.”

She relaxed, half on top of him as before, a hand on his neck as she kissed him gently.  “I missed you like this,” she mumbled.  “It’s been so hard staying away.”

“You’re not gonna love me and leave me, are you?” He said sleepily, his eyes already falling closed.

She smiled.  “Is this your way of asking if I’ll sleep out here with you tonight?”

“Mmmmm.”

She cuddled close to him, her head on his chest.  She wasn’t going anywhere.


	51. Chapter 51

"Hey Walter?"

Walter looked up from his chair. He'd come to the loft for some quiet – the whole team, plus the two current full time occupants of the garage, they were all downstairs, dispersed, working on their own thing. But the look on Ralph's face told him that he needed to be something other than lost in his thoughts. "Yeah, Ralph?"

"How do you push aside something you want because you want something else more?"

He tipped his head to the side. "I'm not sure that I follow you, bud."

"Last night. Owen and I were sitting on the couch his parents' living room. And I got close," he said. "To telling him. I even got out _hey, Owen_ but then he said _yeah_ and I said..."

He trailed off, looking down at his hands.

"Then you said what?" Walter asked, cocking his head.

"Nothing."

"You just stared at him."

"No!" Ralph looked upset that Walter had misunderstood him. "I said _nothing_. The word nothing." He forcefully nudged the edge of the couch with the toe of his shoe. "I can't do it, Walter."

"Hey." The older genius stepped closer. "Ralph, you know how miserable your mom and I were before..."

"I _know_ that," Ralph interrupted.

"I know you know," Walter said. "You're a genius. And because you're a genius I also know that you're aware that she and I could have had more happiness together if we'd...you know...begun our relationship earlier. With everything that's happened, I..." he shook his head. "I wish we'd had that extra year. I know there'd have been more rough patches, maybe we weren't ready then, but..." he shook his head, "but knowing how wonderful things are now, I can't help but believe that we would have made it work. Ralph, she taught me how to think past tomorrow and she...and my sister...both have showed me that that tomorrow is never a guarantee."

"I know you're going to tell me that means that if I have feelings for Owen, I should tell him," Ralph said. "And I want to, but..." he shrugged. "Mom's more important."

Walter frowned. "What does your mom have..."

"I'm a genius," Ralph said, as if his meaning was obvious. "I'm young. I have my whole life ahead of me, and...a genius has to have a life's work, right?"

"Ralph."

"I'm not in school anymore. So I'm starting on my life's work." A smile came over Ralph's face. "I'm going to find a cure. I'm going to fix my mom."

* * *

Paige smiled at the woman who had just come into the room. "Hey, Lin. Where have you been?"

Linda gestured with her hand toward the airstream. "I was getting a, uh..." she furrowed her brow, trying to pull the term. "A _moti-ray-tional_ speech."

"Oh God," Paige laughed. "What was he moti- _ray_ -ing you for?"

"For tomorrow. I'm seeing Hank with our lawyers. To start divvying up our lives together. Ray saw me moping and took it upon himself to give a pep talk."

 _Oh right._ Paige cocked her head. She'd forgotten about the proceedings beginning. "Did he help?"

"I don't know. I'm just..." she slapped her hands against her knees and dropped down on the couch. "I'm so afraid that when I see him I won't be able to be strong enough to keep walking away."

"You will," Paige said. She rose from her chair, crossing over to the couch and settling next to her. "You were strong enough to leave him in the first place."

"But to keep going?" She shook her head. "I hate him and I love him in the same breath, Paige."

"I know what that's like, you know." Paige didn't want to tell Linda what she'd confessed to Walter, about her never being strong enough to call Drew up, or go see him, and tell him they were over. "I...things were different, with me, but...but there will come a time when it doesn't hurt anymore. And you can still be inconceivably happy. Just don't let this close your heart up."

Linda slumped over, resting her head on Paige's shoulder as tears began to leak out of her eyes. "I'm gross, I've lost weight, my hair is dirty, I wear, like, three outfits over and over. I've already let him affect me in so many awful ways. It's just so hard to feel normal again."

Paige tipped her head to rest on top of Linda's. "Why don't you go upstairs and shower, and then we'll dress you up nice and do your hair and then you and I will go out and get some food. Sound good?"

"Or we can just go now."

"Lin," Paige said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently. "If you are refreshed, and like how you look, it'll help feel like a fresh start. You'll feel better. It'll prepare you for tomorrow."

* * *

Paige was braiding Linda's hair.

She sat on the desk, her hands in her lap, her ankles crossed, and Paige stood behind it, combing each section, using the plug on her lamp to power the straightener. From where Walter watched off to the side, he couldn't hear what she said to Linda, but he both saw and heard the other woman laugh.

"How are you holding up, kid?"

Walter glanced at Cabe. The older man could be as stern, as formidable as anyone dealing with politicians or out in the field, but in moments like this, the gentleness and concern on his face was obvious even to the most inept at reading people. Walter's mind briefly carried him back to 1995, when they'd met. Other than Megan, Cabe was the first to make him wonder if the majority of the population was as intriguingly complex as geniuses.

Walter sighed. "I don't know how to put into words what I'm feeling." It was an honest answer. Paige, to her credit, was her typical cheerful, positive self, having had nearly a week now to process her diagnosis. As she ran her fingers through Linda's hair, both women were smiling, and they were natural smiles, the kind that had a brightness that couldn't be faked. Just a short time before, Linda had been nearly inconsolable. Years ago, Megan had spoken in wonder of how strong the human mind was. At the time, Walter had thought she'd meant how much potential it held for knowledge. He shook his head. "I just keep reliving that day at Chernobyl. When we got on the plane back to the states she rested her head on my shoulder and told me she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so alive."

Walter had never understood why young people would sarcastically shout _L. O. L._ until earlier today when he'd recalled that moment. "I told her that no matter what, I'd be strong for her. But..." he looked at Cabe. "I don't know if I can. Years down the road..." he bit his lip.

"You're scared that when she gets worse, you won't be able to hold it together."

"They said she could live another fifty years. But they never know." His voice was changing, growing more emotional, "I already had to watch my sister die. And that _wasn't my fault_." He looked at Cabe. "Can I ask you a...a personal question?"

"You want to know what it was like when we couldn't do anything else for my daughter." Cabe's face changed. "It was Hell. I'm not going to lie to you. And you know that tore things apart. But she knew we loved her." He put a hand on Walter's shoulder. "Son, I know you. You'll manage."

"How?"

"Because you love her. That's all you have to do. She doesn't expect you to be perfect."

"I'm worried about Ralph."

Cabe stopped, his eyebrows raising a slight fraction. Walter was surprised himself – not that he was worried about Ralph; of course Cabe would know the boy would be struggling too – but neither of them thought that was a turn the conversation would so abruptly take. "He not holding up well?"

"He's...determined. He says that he's going to...immerse himself in research. Find a way to save her. Make it his life's work."

"Oh boy." Cabe sighed, running his hand along his receding hairline. _He's certainly your son._

Cabe didn't say it, but he didn't have to. Walter knew the older man was thinking about exactly what was causing the painful sinking feeling in his stomach. "He's going to make the same mistake I did. Focusing on your work – having an intellectual passion, it's...it's a good thing. But when I think of all the hours I spent slaving over the rocket when I could have been with her, at her bedside, even carrying her on my back around the city..." a small smile came on his face. "We'd do that, sometimes. It made her feel childish, which I suppose we all need to allow ourselves to do once in a while. We'd go...we'd go into that cupcake shop. Sprinkles?"

"Ah yeah," Cabe said, nodding. "Good place."

"But there are so many memories that...that I don't have. Because they don't exist. We didn't make them. I was too busy trying to save her life that I didn't... _experience_ her life as fully as I could have." He sighed. "Ralph has the most brilliant mind that I've ever known. You know we got him I.Q. tested? When I realized I was number five, I'd just assumed that he'd taken my place. I'd assumed he was number four."

"He's not."

"Nope," Walter said. "He is three. Radiation research will be lucky to have him. But I'm worried that he'll lose himself in it. I saw that look he got, Cabe." Folding his arms, Walter sighed. "He might not be my biological son but...but he has my eyes."


	52. Chapter 52

Ralph drew in a long, ragged breath as he clicked the call button on his Skype account, glancing one more time out the window to make sure no cars were pulling up in the driveway. His knee was bumping anxiously against the bottom of his desktop, and he lowered his chair a fraction to stop it. The dozens of pages on radiation research he'd printed off that morning, jostled by the bumping of his knee, slid off the desk and onto the floor.

_Don't be nervous. You can do this._

"Hi there, Ralph."

"Hi." Ralph was suddenly at a loss for words as to how to address the person staring at him across the internet. "How...how are you?"

"I've been well, Ralph. Melanie's doing well. We're getting very excited about the baby. He'll be here in just over a month now, you know. I hope you will come and meet him, Ralph."

"Yes. I think my mom wants to come with me."

"That sounds great, Ralph. What's the occasion for this call?"

"I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure, Ralph," Drew said, and Ralph wondered why he insisted on continually saying his name.

"I..." he bit his lip. "I don't know how to say this. I realize it's...awkward. But..."

"What?"

"You know how close I am with Walter. He's like me. And I'm like him. And we just...get each other."

"I know," Drew said, "and honestly, Ralph, I think it's great. You guys both deserve to have someone who understands you."

"So...if I were to ask you to relinquish your parental rights so Walter could adopt me..." he trailed off, recognizing the expression on Drew's face as one that was not receptive to his question. He changed tactics. "Please."

"I'm your father, Ralph. Walter is not."

"I know that. That's why I have to ask you to do it."

"Don't smartass me." Drew was frowning. "Look, I know that I messed up with you, Ralph. I know I can never give those years back to you. I know I hurt your mom and I do wish I hadn't put you two through what you had to deal with but you are my son. I know we aren't close. I know we're so different. But that doesn't change what we are, at the core."

"I know, but..."

"Ralph," Drew said, holding up a hand. "I understand that emotions can be difficult for you, so I'm just going to explain how I'm feeling right now, okay? It hurts me that you would want to erase me. If I gave up my parental rights and Walter adopted you, that reduces me to no more than the guy who knocked your mom up. Part of my identity – as your father – would be stripped away. I have been your father for fifteen years now. I'm not going to stop just because you love Walter. Are we understood? Good," he said after a moment, apparently taking Ralph's silence as the answer he wanted. "Now, Melanie will be home in a few minutes, do you want to talk to her?"

"Melanie. The woman you want, carrying the child you'll actually be there for." Ralph shook his head. "No thank you." Reaching forward, he disabled the call, but not before he could see the angry look on Drew's face.

He knew that last bit wasn't fair of him. He liked Melanie. And if he was completely honest with himself, it didn't hurt him anymore that Drew had abandoned him. He and his mother had both moved on, the missing spaces in their lives were found and filled in. That wound had healed, years ago. But in the immediate aftermath of Drew's refusal to even listen to him, Ralph felt bitter again.

 _That reduces me to no more than the guy who knocked your mom up._ Ralph cringed at Drew's phrasing. As he'd become a teenager, his father had taken to slightly more crude, insensitive sounding diction, possibly as a way of trying to bond with his growing son. But Ralph hadn't magically become the teenager Drew might have been, or that teenaged Drew might have known, just by turning thirteen. No matter how the two of them had tried to forge a bond, it hadn't ever happened. Signing away his parental rights wouldn't make Drew any less of the father he already wasn't. Ralph would still call him on his birthday and at Christmas. He'd still go visit occasionally. He wasn't doing that now out of an obligation...was he?

Ralph closed his laptop, sighing in frustration. He needed to talk to someone. But neither his mother nor Walter knew about this call, Happy and Toby were at a doctor's appointment, and Sylvester had gone along with Paige to offer Linda moral support in the face of her soon to be ex. He had no one to confide in. Except...

* * *

"He actually used the phrase 'the guy who knocked your mom up'?" Sloan asked, a horrified expression on her face.

"I suppose the word choice could have been worse," Olivia said. "Like he could have said...well, you know. He was probably trying to make a point. Like, oh, this sounds bad, this is what you're trying to diminish me to."

"He doesn't have to do that at the sake of Paige, though," Owen said. "They were in a relationship then."

"I know, I'm just trying to reason it out."

Ralph shifted his weight uncomfortably. "When she got pregnant with me, they were in love. Saying something like that, it...it makes it seem like they were nothing, like they were just..." Ralph curled his right hand into a fist and punched the palm of his left, immediately regretting the action. He put his head in his hands.

"You know biology doesn't matter," Olivia said, reaching out and touching his knee. "Walter loves you to the stars and back."

"I know it doesn't matter," Ralph said quietly. "And I know him adopting me doesn't make me biologically his. But I still want to be. Legally. A lot has been on my mind lately..."

"About your mom?" Owen asked.

Ralph blinked. "About...a lot of things. And I guess maybe I was a little implusive, asking him, but I don't know. I really thought maybe he'd listen to me."

"What difference does it really make, though?" Sloan asked. "I'm just trying to help," she added, when Owen glared. "I'm not saying it's not important to you but if you love Walter and you know he loves you, and he's marrying your mom and you live with them and everyone will just assume that you're his kid...does the legal formalities really matter?"

"If legal formalities didn't matter," Owen said, "no one would get married. And Walter asked Ralph, you know. When he asked Paige."

"I just want us to all be..." Ralph shook his head quietly. "I know biology doesn't matter. But _this_ does. Maybe it shouldn't. But it does."


	53. Chapter 53

Linda lay in the bed, curled up in the fetal position and hugging a pillow to her chest.

_The divorce process would be fairly simple, the lawyer informed her. She and Hank were not fighting over property. There were no children – when the lawyer mentioned this, Linda's stomach fluttered painfully – to discuss custody of. Amicable divorces took much less time. It wouldn't be long before she could move on with her life._

_She wondered how she should sign her name to the papers – legally, she was still Melinda Scragg, so she scrawled it across the lines marked with an X. She'd be Melinda Lewis again – soon – but for now, Melinda Scragg signed and attested that she understood all that was about to happen._

_As she feared, she almost cracked upon seeing Hank. He smiled at her – given her the look that had made her forgive him time and time again – and if it wasn't for Sylvester's hand coming up to her back, firmly between her shoulder blades, she might have stopped cold._

" _Lin," Hank said fondly, stopping just in front of her. "You look..."_

" _Wonderful. Freed." Paige's voice was icy._

" _You do look wonderful," Hank said. "Your hair is lovely. Like that night that we danced in Cairo, do you remember that?"_

_Linda did remember that. He'd taken an entire night off from his job and they'd stayed up until dawn. She'd felt so loved that night._

" _Can we have a minute alone?" He asked Paige and Sylvester._

" _Nope," they said in unison._

" _It's okay," Linda said, although she didn't want them to leave. They backed off, just a few yards, and remained, watching._

" _Lin, are you sure?" Hank asked. "I know I've been terrible. I let my career get away from me. Away from us. But you know they've come under some financial difficulties. I'm not traveling right now. We could...we could take a second honeymoon. Anywhere you want. Or just stay home. Get to know each other again. I do love you, Linda."_

_Her knees shook. She wanted to agree, to walk into his arms, to take him back to their house and spend days not seeing another soul. She wanted to feel his lips all over her, his hands caressing her back. She wanted to bring up what happened four months into their marriage, what no one else knew about but them, and say she was ready to move forward. That's what he'd told her to say to him. When she was ready, they'd move forward. And with everything going on with her friends, with him standing in front of her promising it'd be different, she wanted it. She wanted it all._

" _You okay, girl?" She heard Paige say. She and Sylvester were too far from them to hear Hank's low voice, but she couldn't have spoken up at a better time. Linda knew about when Drew had returned to Paige and Ralph's life. He'd told her that he knew he'd been absent so much, but his career was washed up, and now he was ready to be in their lives again. He'd flat out admitted that the people who had once been his family were a consolation prize who he was returning to because his better option had dried up. Once Walter had improved his pitching, Drew was gone again._

_As much as she hated to admit it – as much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew once financials improved with Hank's employer, it would be the same way._

" _I can't, Hank," she said, shaking her head, her voice trembling as she slowly backed away. "I can't."_

She whimpered into the pillow. If she hadn't said that, she might be in his arms right now. Instead, she was in the loft of Scorpion's garage, her new clothes rumpled, her makeup streaking across her face.

"Hey, Linda?"

She turned. "What do you want, Sylvester?"

"I just wanted to see how you were. After yesterday."

She wanted to tell him to leave. But at the same time, she didn't want him going anywhere. "Sylvester?"

"Yeah?"

She sat up, patting the bed next to her. Sylvester crossed the room, sinking slowly down on the mattress.

"You lost someone you loved." Linda bit her lip. "I know not in the same way, but..." she looked at her knees. "Please don't think I'm comparing this to your wife dying. That has to be a million times worse.

"Loss is loss is loss," Sylvester said gently. "My situation doesn't make yours any less valid."

"How do you deal with it? Please don't say time. I need to know how to survive right now."

"My situation _is_ different than yours," Sylvester admitted, "but not because Megan passed away." Linda knew what he meant. He and Megan had been completely committed to each other until the end and beyond. "What I think is the best way to survive is to focus on the good times. The ways he made you happy. The days you wish you could relive. Sometimes that just hurts, but it also helps you realize that your relationship with him was not wasted time. Not all relationships are meant to last forever. Look at what you and Walter had. Just a couple weeks of going places together, kissing at the end of the night, but...but that helped you identify when feelings were real and when they were just an illusion. That's why you went so hard after Hank – you knew what you felt for him was real. But even real love doesn't always last forever. And that's okay. Some people are supposed to be in your life temporarily, to teach you. To shape you. To help you become the person that's going to find their happily ever after, whatever that might be. Like Happy and Toby, or Paige and Walter. Or in my case, the little baby I'm going to have in a few months."

Sylvester was the youngest of all of them, but Paige had told Linda more than once that, sometimes, he was the wisest. She cocked her head. "You and the baby? You don't..." she sniffed, wiping her nose, "you don't think you'll ever get married again?"

"The past few years have taught me to never say never," Sylvester said. "But with Megan, I think I already had the best. I'm fulfilled. And being a father will be even more rewarding. It's possible I could find someone so special that I'll want to take that step again. And you could, too."

* * *

Paige was working on her calendar for the next two months. Of course, things could always be thrown off by cases, but she still needed some sort of tentative plan. "Hey Ralph?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of August tenth through thirteenth to go see Drew and Melanie?"

"I don't care."

She cocked her head. She knew – or thought she knew – that her son was eager to meet his half – brother or sister. Melanie was due on August fifth. "I know they are excited to see you."

"Screw that."

"Ralph!" Paige snapped. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Ralph said. "Why does something have to be the matter?"

"You have an upset look on your face."

"It's just my face! God, Mom, just chill, would you?"

"I'm your mother," she said, "I know when something is bothering you." Her voice dropped into a more gentle tone. "Is something wrong with your friends? Is...is it Owen?"

" _Mom, shut up_!"

Her eyes flashed. "Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that, Ralph," Paige said as Cabe entered the garage. "Or else..."

"Punishment may have to come later," he said. "We have a case."

"Cabe, I'm in the middle of..."

"Paige," Walter said quietly. She hadn't even seen him come into the room. "Ralph's on the team, he has to be part of this."

She bit her lip. He was right. She still wanted to yell.

"What are we looking at?" Toby asked, wheeling over with Happy right behind him.

"There was a murder in Texas. His name is Roald Scott," Cabe said, "and he has been perfecting a computer system that cannot crash."

"I've heard of him," Walter said. "He's intelligent, but has rather out there ideas. There is no such thing as a system that cannot crash."

"I've heard of him too," Sylvester said, coming down the stairs. "He actually wanted my help on it, oh gosh, must have been around the time Paige got pregnant. But I said I didn't have the time. I can't imagine he actually came up with something completely flawless, though. Like Walter said – a system that's impossible to crash? _That's_ what's impossible. For every computer system, for every server, there's a counter measure."

"Well, he claimed he had one," Cabe said. "He was designing it for our government security departments to be able to handle more information more quickly. So naturally, we are suspecting terrorism."

"He was killed before he could finish his work. This way, we would not have the advantage."

"Exactly, Ralph," Cabe said, nodding at the boy. "This system could greatly improve our security. It's refining already top of the line technology. What I need is you guys to increase security around his house – he has a protégé who is going to try and complete the work that needs protection – and try to figure out who might have done this."

"We're not exactly murder mystery professionals," Paige said.

"No," Sylvester agreed, "but what we _can_ do is run traces and calculations to determine what groups would be most negatively affected by the implementation of this software. There are algorithms..." he ran to his white board.

"Take it with you," Cabe said. "We're heading to Texas. Wheels up in forty five minutes."

"Wheels up?" Ray asked, wandering into the room. "Where are you going? Greenland? Iraq? Australia?"

"Texas," Happy said.

Ray wrinkled his nose. "Why don't your cool things ever happen in Australia?"

"Take that up with the bad guys," Ralph said, slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder.

"I assume there is nothing I can do?"

"Actually..." Sylvester bit his lip, glancing toward the stairs. "Can you maybe look in on Linda a few times?" He asked, his voice quiet. "She's having another rough period."

"Oh..." Ray nodded. "Yeah. Totally."

Sylvester nodded. "Thank you."

"I'll help!" Toby said, wheeling his way over to the staircase. He frowned. "Well, providing...she comes down here."


	54. Chapter 54

The flight was three hours, and within minutes of settling down on one of the couches, Happy was passed out. Paige knew she was sharing a bed with Toby again, and she understood why the mechanic was tired. Shortly before she'd gotten pregnant with Ralph, Drew had injured his shoulder. He'd only been out of the game for a week or so, but the discomfort that he experienced had made it difficult for him to get comfortable. The near constant shifting – even when he was asleep – had kept her awake. She'd experienced something like that with Walter, when he was recovering from _his_ injuries from Egypt. Sleeping next to Toby no doubt was something Happy wanted, but the lingering fear of hurting him plus the probably restless environment would take a toll on her.

She was drained, too, and didn't want to think about whether or not the fatigue was a result of her diagnosis, her pregnancy, or if she was just plain tired.

Either way, Walter's shoulder looked really good, and she rested her head as the plane took off. When she closed her eyes, Ralph was talking to Cabe; when they opened again, he was asleep on another couch, so she must have dozed off. "Mmmm," she mumbled, changing how her head rested against Walter. He shifted to accommodate her.

"You know, I've been thinking," Walter said, his finger tracing her engagement ring. "When we get married, you should keep your name."

She lifted her head from his shoulder. "What?"

"You should stay Dineen."

She cocked her head. "Why?"

"Relationships are messy," he said. "You told me that once."

"Yeah, but..." she felt her heart begin to pound – where had this come from? "But Walter..."

"Look," he said, "we've had some rough times. We've worked to keep our relationship. Marriage shouldn't change that. It...it shouldn't lull us into this false sense of security. If you keep your name, it will remind me. That I need to keep fighting for you. That I can't ever take you for granted. That I have to work at our marriage."

"Walter," she said, squeezing his hand. "I know that a lot of women are keeping their names when they get married. But the thought of being an O'Brien is something that makes me happy. Walter." She sat up and slid a hand around to the back of his neck, "I know you. You've put so much commitment and...and intensity...into our relationship so far. I feel loved. Every second. Even when we fight. I'm not worried about that fading once we get married. If I'm worried about anything at all," she admitted, "it's that I don't do this quite as well as you."

It was an odd thing to say. Anyone who knew them would assume that Paige was more naturally a good romantic partner than Walter was. But Walter's brain was wired in a way that he always gave his all. He was receptive to feedback and loved her with the same intensity and passion that he had spent his youth applying to math and science.

And, sometimes, she felt guilty. She was the first – the only – person that he'd ever loved. He'd had three sexual partners before her, which was the same number that she'd had before him, but she was the only one with whom he'd experienced the emotional intensity of the act. She knew that that created a sort of power imbalance between them, and at first, she'd been more than a little uncomfortable with that knowledge. They'd been together long enough now that when he said things like this, she wondered if _she_ was taking _him_ for granted – if she was unconsciously taking advantage of the fact that in so many ways, she was his only one. And she wondered if he thought she wasn't putting out the same amount of effort that he was, and because he loved her so much, he felt he had to overcompensate, make up for what she was lacking.

"What?" He said, a smile coming over his face. He looked almost amused. "You think you don't do relationships as well as I do?" He chuckled. "Oh, Pay."

"I'm serious."

"We're very different," he said. "So we love differently. He squeezed her hand. "I've never doubted how you feel about me. If I get to decide if you love me right, then rest assured, Love."

"See? This is exactly what I mean. Everything I do is right to you."

"Why is that bad?"

"I don't know." She rested her head in her hands, her elbows digging into her knees. "I guess all this stuff...about you needing to fight for me and all..." her mobility wasn't fantastic in her current position but her shoulders made a slight shrugging motion. "It makes me feel like you think you aren't good enough. And then that makes me think that I'm doing something to make you feel that way, which is awful of me."

"Paige, no." Walter reached over, grabbing her legs and swinging them across his lap. His hand came up to rest on the side of her face. "Don't think like that," he said, his thumb massaging her cheek. "Because then I'll think I'm doing something wrong to make you think you're doing something wrong because you think I think I'm doing something wrong and you see where I'm going with this, right?"

She pushed against his hand, closing her eyes. "An endless cycle. I get it."

"I think...we both will have doubts sometimes, about individual things. But we can't let those doubts control us. Just...just teach us."

"So are you okay if I become Paige O'Brien one day?" She asked, smiling.

"Paige O'Brien." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her. "I like how that sounds."

Her grin only lasted another moment before it faded out and her eyes widened, her hand going to her stomach. She could instantly see the worry cross Walter's face and spoke before he could open his mouth. "Nothing's wrong," she said, grabbing his hand and putting it just under her belly button. "Walter, feel here. _Sly_!"

Happy and Ralph stirred at her raised voice, but neither woke up. Sylvester and Cabe appeared from the front of the plane. "What is it?" The younger man asked. His face changed as he noticed the placement of Walter's palm and the look on his face. "Oh my God...is...?"

Paige smiled, nodding, and he dropped down in front of them and Walter removed his hand, letting Sylvester place his. He bit his lower lip, his glasses already beginning to fog up.

The kicking had stopped a moment before Sylvester placed his hand on her, and Paige willed the baby to start again. Walter had felt it. It wasn't right if Sly...her worries dissipated as the fluttering picked back up.

"My baby," Sylvester said, his free hand going up to his mouth. He gave a little nod. "My baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially the baby kicking for the first time was going to happen when only Ralph was around, but I decided no, Sylvester should be there. So I moved it up a chapter or so.


	55. Chapter 55

"This place gives me the creeps," said Paige, glancing around at the compound that seemingly appeared from the desert like a mirage.  It separated itself from the small parking lot with a wall that was higher in the front than it was at the sides.

"I'd like to modify a common saying and state that everything is _more dangerous_ in Texas," Sylvester said, the last to leave the car, scampering to keep up. "The snakes, the guns, the scorpions...ironic, I know." He glanced up at the sky. "It's hot here."

"Don't worry, Sly," Paige said, "we'll be inside. And you have your medication, right?"

"Yes," Sylvester said, nodding quickly. "I just don't like the heat."

They were greeted by a tall athletic looking man with a bright smile. "I'm Donald," he said, "but call me Donny, please. I'm Raold's acolyte. Or I was, rather."

"So you're the one we are here to protect," Happy said. "Why should we protect you? You had the most to gain from his death."

Donny bristled. "The most to gain? He's not finished with his program yet. I have no idea how to finish it. With him gone, it's useless. From a money and fame standpoint, I had the most to lose by his death. To suggest that I'm not smart enough to understand that is insulting at best."

"Take it easy," Cabe said. "We're just trying to get to the bottom of all this. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Donny sighed. "I know. I apologize."

"Are you..." Sylvester cocked his head. "Are you a...a genius, then?"

Donny shrugged. "My family and I are all I.T. professionals. But we're not anything...special, I guess. I don't know why Roald chose me to come work with him. There are thousands of us in Texas alone."

"Well," Walter said, "if you could just show us to our work space, we can begin to formulate and run our algorithms that should lead us to those with the most to lose by your boss's death. From there, we can assist these agencies in determining who should be looked at as people of interest."

"Oh, of course," Donny said, gesturing toward the hallway. "Let me show you. Keep close behind me. The security here is...intense, to say the least."

* * *

 

Ralph and Walter bent over the laptops, furiously punching in variables, adjusting their coding, perfecting their work to benefit the specific situation. They were focused, almost completely, but not so much that he was immune to hearing his mother's name, especially when it was spoken in a worried tone.

"Paige," Happy said. "You okay?"

Ralph glanced over toward the women. His mother was standing upright, but looked a little bit pale. "I'm a...a little light headed. But nothing really that concerning."

"You know the air is funky in here. Maybe go outside. Take a walk," Donny suggested. "I couldn't help but notice, I mean...we're deep inside the compound, it can get a little stuffy. Damp."

"I'll come with you, Mom," Ralph offered, swiveling his chair around.

"No, honey, you stay and work," she said.

Ralph shook his head, glancing at Walter. They'd probably get it done a little faster working together, but his dad was more than capable of finishing it himself. "No, I'm coming. I could use some fresh air too."

He was lying. This was exactly the kind of case that he loved to work on. He'd been looking forward to this case the entire flight.

But he wasn't going to make his mom leave the room and walk around outside all by herself, and, as the youngest and newest official member of Team Scorpion – and as Paige's son – Ralph figured it made the most sense that he go with her.

He could see by the small smile on her face that she was glad he offered.

* * *

 

They walked outside, following a path lined with...some sort of plant. Ralph hadn't much experience with Texan dendrology.

"Do you know what these plants are, Ralphie?"

She could have asked him about temperature patterns or what the team was working on inside or where he'd gotten the shirt he was wearing but no, the one question he had no idea how to answer. No, that wasn't right. He knew exactly how to answer it. "No."

"Oh." She looked awkward, as if she'd been purposefully trying to let him teach her something. "Okay."

"Do you feel better out here, Mom?"

She nodded, looking up at the building as they passed into the shade created by it. "I don't recognize this part of the compound."

"I think we're around the back. Like, if you go around this way, we'll reach that little wall that wraps around to where our cars are." Ralph came to a stop. "You're sweating. Let's take a break."

"Ralph." She reached over and tousled his hair. He let her – reluctantly. "It's more than one hundred degrees out here. Wouldn't it be a bigger concern if I _wasn't_ swearing?"

"Well now I'm concerned because you said swearing instead of sweating."

Paige rolled her eyes, but a smile was on her face. That pleased Ralph. He knew he was difficult sometimes – being a teenager didn't mean being immune to how behavior was received by others – but he knew firsthand what it was like to have almost no relationship with a parent. No matter how strained things got between him and her sometimes, he knew he was lucky to have her as his mother.

Paige unconsciously slid her palms over her shirt, contouring her shirt around her front and revealing the smallest change in her stomach. "It does feel nice in this shade."

"What was it like when you were pregnant with me?"

She cocked her head. "You have any specifics there, baby?"

"Did you have any doubts about my father?"

As soon as Ralph asked the question, he regretted it. His mother's face changed; her expression was one that he couldn't identify, but it didn't take a genius – or even a measurable I.Q., he thought wryly – to realize that the question wasn't one that she liked thinking about. "I'm sorry."

"No..." she was looking at him curiously, as if gauging how honest she wanted to be. "You're old enough, I suppose."

She was silent another long moment, then took in a deep breath. "I didn't doubt him one bit." She pressed her lips together. "I thought he and I would be together until the end. I was scared, when I was pregnant with you. But I knew it'd be okay because I felt this strength, and I thought it came from the relationship that your father and I had. It took me a couple years to realize that the strength I was feeling came from me. And from the love I felt for you."

Ralph bit his lip. He knew it was odd, but he had hoped that his mother would tell him that she had, always, deep down, felt something was off about Drew. That when she finally realized he wasn't coming back, it had come with a sense that she'd known it all along. That she hadn't ever been truly happy, truly content, truly _sure_ that Drew was the one. He had perhaps _expected_ her to say something like that.

For all their differences, and for all the issues they'd had lately, Paige knew Ralph well enough to know that the distressed look on his face – and the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes – was not related to a long dormant wish that she and Drew would get back together. "Ralph..." she stepped closer to him, putting a hand on the side of his face. "Ralph, honey, what's..."

"I don't want Walter to go."

He saw a completely heartbroken expression come over Paige's face – but only for a moment, as she quickly pulled him close. "Oh, baby. Walter isn't going anywhere."

"How..." The words _do you know_ were broken off by Ralph's voice cracking and him abandoning the sentence. He remembered the year before, when his mother and Walter had gone through their rough patch, barely speaking for a month, and he'd told Owen he was afraid that their relationship might end. He hadn't ever truly allowed himself to worry, though, because he knew how much the two of them loved each other. He'd never seen his mother so happy. When they'd made up, it was as if the rough patch had never happened – except they'd perhaps been a little more aware of their occasional macroaggressions. And the past few months, Ralph had felt even closer to Walter than he ever had before; calling him dad was like having a magic button that, when pressed, released happiness into the air. Such a thing was an impossibility, and yet...

But Paige had once been so certain that she and _Drew_ could conquer anything together. Ralph leaned his head back – startled once again at how he was now barely shorter than his mother. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Pressing his lips together, he let out a deep breath and tried again. "How do you know?"

Third time? The charm.

Paige slid a hand up to the side of his face. "Honey," she said, "do you know how old I was when you were born? A few months shy of twenty. You think I had any clue about what's right and wrong, what I want, what the warning signs are, when I was twenty? And besides," she shrugged. "Even if I had, that doesn't mean every past relationship is a wrong one. I think your father and I were right for each other at that stage. We just weren't compatible in the long run. Getting over him was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but he was my last broken heart. I'm sure of that."

"I asked him to give me up. So Walter could adopt me."

Her expression changed again, her eyes narrowing. "What?"

"Please don't be mad. He already said no." Ralph pulled away.

"Ralph – honey." She stepped close to him again. "Ralph, I'm not mad." Her face softened, her eyes sympathetic. "He said no?"

"He said no. He said I insulted him by asking and there was no way Walter was going to get me." They weren't Drew's exact words. Ralph didn't care. "I know it's just paper." He bit his lip, looking away. "I know that, but I want us to have everything. I want the paper."

"I wish..." she shook her head. "I wish I knew what to tell you, baby. Maybe bring it up to him again when you see him. He and I are still the generation that was brought up to value face to face conversation, it might help to talk to him in person."

"We were face to face. I Skyped him."

"Still. Maybe when you see him, and I could bring it up to him too, if you wanted."

"I don't want to see him. I never want to see him again."

"Ralph."

"If he wants to be so possessive over the paper, then he can have the paper." Ralph folded his arms. "Walter gets everything else."

"Okay. Ralph." She started walking again, motioning for him to come with her. Reluctantly, Ralph fell into step beside her. "You don't have to have a good relationship with your father. I know that relationships – even family ones – have to be earned. Okay? I understand that. And..." she bit her lip, looking down at the ground as they came back into the sunlight, nearing the beginning of the wall that rose out of the ground and led the way to the parking lot. "And I know that a lot of what Drew has done has made him not so much a father to you. But..."

"No buts."

" _Yes_ , buts," Paige said. Ralph wondered if she was also thinking _boy I'm glad Toby's not here right now to laugh_. "But, you are going to have a little half brother. He has done nothing to let you down. And I think you should give him a chance. You could be the only sibling he ever has."

He could be the only sibling Melanie and Drew's son would ever have. Not the other way around. Ralph found her word choice interesting. He opened his mouth to ask another question, one he'd been wanting to ask for the last couple of months.

Gunshots – dozens of them – rapidly rang out, and both of them reacted instantly, leaping for protection behind the wall – only about two feet tall at their current location – and dropping behind it, shielded from the bullets. Paige lay on her side, her head turned to stare up at the top of the wall, as if that gave her a better view of the shooters. Ralph was on his hands and knees, his head tucked to the ground for a few moments, just listening. He couldn't hear any talking or yelling, and the shots were coming too quickly for the firearms to be pistols or standard hunting rifles. Ralph glanced past Paige – the wall got higher – nearly six feet – about ten yards farther down, and from there, they could get to their car completely out of view of the shooters. "Mom," he whispered, gesturing. "That way."

Paige didn't move. Ralph cleared his throat, hating that his voice was still cracking so much. Could he just be an adult already? "Mom."

She still didn't move, her eyes wide, her body seemingly locked up. It was hot in Texas, but Ralph could see how much more she was sweating than just minutes before. Her hand had gone up to clutch at her chest and her breathing sounded more like wheezing. Ralph realized what was happening.

She'd been shot before. Her mind was remembering, trapping her.

Ralph scooted closer to his mother, careful to stay out of sight of the shooters, and put a hand on her arm. She jerked, her eyes wild as she looked at him.

"Mom, Mom, it's going to be okay." Ralph glanced up. The top of his head was concealed by the wall by mere inches. But there was no flinging of dirt on this side caused by the impact of a bullet, and the top of the wall was not chipped or broken. The bullets were shooting at something, something nearby, but they either weren't trying to kill the two of them, or they weren't their first priority, or they just hadn't seen them yet. Either way, they had some time, maybe ten seconds, to reach the higher part of the wall, where they'd be out of site.

But Paige was not going anywhere. At least, she wasn't going anywhere on her own.

Ralph peeked over the wall. He couldn't immediately see any threat, so he dropped back down, rolling his mother flat onto her back. Then, he rose to his knees, slid an arm under her shoulders and another under her legs, struggled to his feet, and sprinted for safety.


	56. Chapter 56

Walter worked carefully, wanting to make sure it was impossible for there to be any errors. He hadn't particularly liked Roald Scott – he found him arrogant without any real achievement to back the attitude up – but there were very few people with the kind of intellect he and his friends had in the world, and Roald Scott was far above average, with the kind of revolutionary ideas that Walter could begrudgingly respect. The murder of Scott was the murder of a genius, and Walter couldn't help but find it a bit personal.

"I need more room to work," Sylvester said, putting his hands on his head and spinning in a circle in front of the easel. The room they were in was large, with tables and chairs and cabinets – but the easel was like a child's. "This is so restricting."

"I have a larger whiteboard up on the third floor," Donny said. "In Roald's personal office. Come with me."

"Okay. Is that up where Cabe is?" Cabe had left a few minutes before to inspect the security cameras.

"No," Donny said. "He's in the other wing of the compound."

"This building is huge," Sylvester commented, shaking his head in disbelief. "This guy basically has a palace to work in and we're still in a two story garage."

"That's probably a downside, if you think about it," Walter said. "Harder to keep secure."

"Come with me, Sylvester," Donny said, smiling. "I will show you to the office."

"Uh, Walt?" Happy asked quietly through her teeth, "are you getting the sense that this guy is trying to split us up?"

Walter responded by quietly and subtly glancing toward Donny, who seemed agitated that Sylvester had not yet exited the room. "Sly, I think you'll feel better staying in here with us," Walter said, trying to sound casual.

"Oh..." Sylvester stared at Donny for a few moments then scooted back over to Walter.

"I think Cabe should come back over here," Walter said, "so we can discuss how we're going to be implementing our work into their investigation."

"He's very busy, I'm sure."

Donny's quick response alarmed Walter. He was clearly thrown off by the knowledge that they'd picked up on his attempts to get the team broken up – that meant that that was in fact his intention, and his presence suddenly seemed sinister.

And – most alarmingly of all – Paige and Ralph had been gone for almost fifteen minutes.

"Why did you do it, Donny?" Happy asked, straightening up. "You said yourself you didn't have motive."

"Of _course_ I had motive!" Donny shouted. "If this works, it would eventually be copied. Marketed to everyone. Every I.T. person in the world would go out of business! Don't you see? Their skillset would be useless!"

"That wouldn't happen!" Sylvester said. "You know that it would be classified technology!"

"I know you're too young to remember, but there was a time when not everyone had a computer or a cell phone!" Donny snapped. "Everything always gets out. My entire family...thousands of people in Texas alone. Systems wouldn't crash, people wouldn't need us. It's an entire line of work, just...just gone."

Donny's hand was near his hip, and Walter was even more alarmed that they didn't have coms. This wasn't supposed to be a dangerous case. They were just supposed to come in, do their work, and give their recommendations. Then get out. That was it. And now, three of them were out of the room, unaware of what had transpired. Walter also knew from earlier when he'd checked the time that there was no cell service in this part of the compound.

And Paige and Ralph...

Donny pulled a pistol from his hip, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"People know we're here," Happy said. "If you shoot us, you'll be caught. It'll be the end for you."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Donny said. "Your team is about the only team in the United States capable of potentially mimicking the technology that Roald Scott came up with. With you out of the picture, there's no way this ever comes to fruition. And you know..." he shrugged. "They know that my wonderful mentor Roald was killed for the technology. Who's ever going to guess he was killed to prevent it from happening at all? I fear for my life, you know. Whoever killed Roald Scott might come back to kill me. That's partly why you are here, right? Well...what if _you all_ tried to kill me? This is self-defense. And..." he smiled again. "No one will ever know."

"I don't know about that," Cabe said, marching back into the room.

Donny turned – fired – and missed. Cabe pulled out his gun. "Get down!" he shouted at the team. They hit the deck as shots rang out, both from Cabe and from Donny. Sylvester started whimpering.

Happy tapped Sylvester and Walter on the shoulders and pointed for the door. The table that Walter and Ralph had been working on stretched almost that far. She began to army crawl toward it, and the men followed her.

They got outside the room, the shots and shouts still firing from inside. "How do we help Cabe?" Sylvester asked frantically as they scrambled to their feet.

"We can't." Walter's face was pale. "The bullets are ricocheting all over the room...it's dangerous enough for them." his eyes fell on a security camera in the hallway. "Happy. Get on my shoulders and pull that down."

Happy did as he asked, and Walter cringed at her knee pressing into his neck as she tugged the camera down, pulling the slack wire along with it. Walter walked her over to the door Happy dropped down, setting it just off to the side, turning the microphone way up. "At least people can hear it's not just self-defense," she said.

"Yes," Walter said. He was dizzy with fear. _Where were Paige and Ralph?_ He glanced around, trying to figure out which way was the fastest to the outside of the compound. He'd bet any amount of money that Donny had not led them the most efficient route. This place was like a maze.

A maze...Walter had an idea. "Let's go that way. Keep left. It's just like in a maze. As long as you never take your hand – figuratively – from the wall, eventually you'll get out."

* * *

 The sixth time that Ralph attempted to call Walter, it went through.

"Ralph! Are you alright?"

"Walter," Ralph said. "People were shooting at us."

"Are you hit? How's your mom?"

"We're okay." Ralph didn't want to mention Paige's reaction to being shot at. There was time to bring it up later. "We're in the car. They don't know where we are. We don't know who they are."

"It's Donny," Walter said. "Donny killed Scott. He doesn't want anyone else to find out."

"Where are you?"

"We're trying to get out. Cabe is dealing with Donny. We're trying to cut the power to this part of the compound so they can't see us on the cameras. We don't know who else is here and potentially in on it. Happy is working on it."

"Stay safe, Dad," Ralph said, glancing at his mother. She still appeared practically catatonic in the backseat. "Mom and I are going to figure out what we're going to do."

"You get out of there if they come after you. Do you promise?"

Ralph hesitated. He didn't want to think about that.

"Ralph," Walter snapped. "Please promise. If something happens to us...I need to know you guys are safe."

"We'll stay here and wait for you as long as we can," Ralph said. "But...I promise."

"Thank you, Ralph...Happy has the power out. We're on our way. Ten minutes. If we're lucky."

"You have cell service again," Ralph said. "You've got to be close. Dad! I love you."

"I love you, Ralph. Stay safe. Please."

Ralph hoped Walter and the others would get to them before anyone from the compound approached. He didn't want to have to choose between risking his and his mother's life waiting or likely sacrificing his dad by getting them out of there, leaving the rest with no getaway car at the ready. They could hot wire...but that would take some time.

He knew what decision he would make. He'd choose Paige one thousand times over. He just didn't want to have to make it.

"Mom," he said, crawling to the back seat. "It's Ralph. Can you look at me? Mom?"

"I see you, Ralph," she said weakly, her eyes focusing on him. "I'm sorry, baby." There were tears in her eyes.

"Mom, it's okay." He dared to touch her, pulling her hair back from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "Mom, it's all going to be okay."

"Where's Walter?"

"He's..." Ralph turned back to stare in the direction of the compound. It looked even eerier now. "They don't know we're out here. The bad guys." The use of the phrase 'bad guys' made Ralph feel like he was nine years old again. "If they come at us, I'll gun it. Get us out of here. You're going to be safe, I promise."

"If they come at us," Paige said. "You let me out of the car and you go."

Ralph blinked, taken aback. "What? No. _Mom_." He helped her sit up. She was suddenly looking a lot stronger, more capable, _fiercely strong_ even. "Standing in the middle of the parking lot alone? That's suicide."

"I'm not leaving without Walter."

" _I'm_ not leaving without _you_!"

"Ralph, you have to!" Paige coughed. "Drive up to the compound now. Let me out. I'll hide. Gives me more of a chance of finding them. Then you beat it."

"No, Mom," Ralph said. "If you sacrifice yourself, you're sacrificing me. That's just how it is."

"Ralph, you do _not_ get to make that kind of decision for me."

"I don't get to decide what I do with my own life?" Ralph's eyes flashed. "Mom, you need to understand something. It's best for Walter if we leave."

Paige blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it," Ralph said. "Think about how much it would hurt to lose him. Think about us going on alone. Think about how much we would struggle. Mom, now think about how it would be for him. To lose us. He doesn't handle emotions like you, Mom. He doesn't even handle them like me. If we stay, something happens to us, and he somehow survives, he wouldn't _really_ make it, Mom." He slid his arms around her. "If they come out here, we have to go. For Walter. And for Sly. They have to know that we're safe, us and the baby. That's what they'd want. We can't let them go on alone."

"The baby." Her voice betrayed her conflict. She took a moment, composing herself, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "They'll make it out," she said, grabbing Ralph's hands. "They'll make it out."

"They always do." Ralph nodded, his hands as sweaty as his mother's. He didn't pray – he never had thought there was any usefulness in it. But at this moment, he wished he believed in that stuff. People who did had a source of comfort always at their fingertips. All Ralph had was the knowledge of how intelligent the people inside the compound were.

That intelligence had always been enough before.


	57. Chapter 57

Paige squeezed Ralph's hands tightly as they waited, watching the compound for any sign of life. She was terrified; she could feel her heart pounding in a good half dozen different places.

Walter...Cabe...Happy...Sly...

It was probably a pretty rare thing for a child to be orphaned before it was even born.

She was returning to her senses as she came down from the earlier panic. Ralph was right. She couldn't risk herself for Walter. Not this time. She'd done it dozens of times before and knew she would do it again, but Sylvester was at risk too. If something happened to him, Paige had to protect his child – and not just while she was pregnant.

She was this baby's aunt. Sean and Louise weren't in a position to raise another kid, and despite Sylvester's slightly improved relationship with his parents since the cyclone had all met, she knew that they wouldn't be awarded custody either. Sylvester had arranged that if anything was to happen to him, the child would go to his brother and Paige, and if something happened to _them_ , to Happy and Toby. Whether a hypothetical situation where Walter and Sly were both dead would result in Paige or Quintis raising his and Megan's daughter, Paige knew she had a responsibility – _especially_ while she was still carrying.

She blew out a long breath, trying to continue to improve her composure while swelling with pride in her son. Walter was right – Ralph was the smartest one of them all.

" _Paige! Paige! Ralph!_ "

Paige bumped her head on the window as she threw her head up, looking wildly toward the compound. Her heart leapt as she saw Walter, Happy, and Sylvester came running toward the van.

"Walter!" She shouted, fumbling with the door handle. Ralph jumped out the other side and ran around to help her open the door. They stumbled forward, frantic, and almost before they could get their footing, Walter was there, gathering both of them into his arms, his breathing audible even before he gave a loud sigh of relief.

Paige wanted to stay right there, close to him, close to Ralph, but after a moment, when Walter's arms felt a little less desperate, she eased out of his arms and went over to Sylvester, who was looking at her with wide eyes.

"It's okay," Paige said, tucking her head into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. "It's okay."

She was surprised, upon releasing Sylvester, to find Happy standing close – very close. "You get hit?" she asked quietly.

"No," Paige said. "These are from duck and cover," she explained, noticing the scrapes on her arms that Happy had to have noticed. She glanced over toward Walter and Ralph, alarm shooting through her at the exact same moment that Ralph asked Walter, "where is Cabe?"

"He's okay," Sylvester said. "He's restraining Donny."

"It was _Donny_?" Paige asked, eyes wide.

"He felt the I.T. industry was threatened by this technology," Happy said. "He has this savior complex about it."

"And a gun," Sylvester said. "He also had a gun."

"We're in Texas," Ralph grumbled, "what do you expect?"

* * *

 It was late by the time the plane touched down in California, and Happy nodded off on the van ride home, her head on Paige's shoulder as they rode in the back. Paige recalled how close Happy had stood to her after they'd escaped the compound.

"Hey Happy?" Paige asked quietly when the mechanic stirred, shifting her weight.

"Hmmm?"

Paige glanced up front. Ralph was driving, Walter paying attention to how the boy was doing. Cabe and Sly were on their phones, headphones in. "Have I been different lately?"

"What do you mean?" Happy cocked her head.

"You've been acting differently around me. The past few weeks. Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Happy."

Happy glanced forward, as if also trying to determine if anyone was listening to them. Then she sighed, leaned back, and set her jaw. "Look."

There was a silence, and Paige raised her eyebrows. Happy sighed again. "I know I've been short with you. I'm sorry."

"Something's bothering you. I want to help."

"You can't help," Happy hissed, glancing forward again. Then her face softened slightly. "If I tell you, you can't tell anybody. Because you know how much I dislike talking about stuff."

"O – okay."

Happy sighed yet again. "When I was born, everything seemed fine. They named me. My mom held me. But her uterus wasn't contracting like it should. At first they weren't concerned, but then she started hemorrhaging. Really badly. They said everything happened really fast after that.  She died because she lost too much blood." Happy looked down at her hands, which she was wringing as they lay in her lap. When she started speaking again her voice cracked and her words came out in a rush. "So when you went to the doctor and they told you that your blood wasn't going to clot like it should anymore I..." she exhaled sharply and cleared her throat.

"You know, if they're concerned," Paige said, "they'll do a c – section, or something."

"You bleed more with a c – section."

"You do?"

"I think Toby said something about that."

Paige felt a slight twinge of worry, but she pushed it down. "It'll be okay, Happy. Medicine has come a long way since the 1980s. People with less than perfect platelets have babies and are fine."

"Logically I know that," Happy said. "But...you know, you're..."

"I know," Paige said. "You are too."

Happy nodded, a small smile coming over her face. "I know. I just keep thinking about it. But I can deal. I just know you deserve to know why I've snapped at you. Call it a defense mechanism. Or something."

Paige reached over, pulling Happy back to her shoulder. They still had a good thirty minutes until they got to the garage.

* * *

Ray felt a rush of relief when the doors opened and one, two, three, four, five, all six of his friends re – entered the garage. They'd called to let them know that they were okay. But as nice of a day as Ray had had, the assurance wasn't enough to make him feel too good – he had to wait until he saw them all, and his own two eyes could prove that they were all okay.

And – he noted with delight – Walter was slightly less startled by his hugs than usual tonight.

"Are we all ready to go home?" Cabe asked. "Or do we want to throw some burgers on the grill upstairs?"

"It's pretty late," Paige started, glancing at the door.

"I vote burgers!" Ralph said with enthusiasm.

"I could definitely go for a burger," Sylvester echoed.

Paige laughed. "I know when I'm outnumbered."

"If you're tired," Walter said, "we can go home."

"Nah," she said. "Let's do it."

"It's settled then," Cabe said, clapping his hands together. "I'll go get it started."

* * *

Walter dragged chairs across the rooftop and arranged them around the fire pit. Cabe had brought some wood and was arranging it in a tepee in the pit. He'd also brought in some carefully cut stumps of to use as seats. "Make this feel more like the wilderness," he had said the day he'd brought them. Sylvester had remarked that this was as close to the wilderness as he wanted to go.

"I'm glad that we left so early this morning," he remarked to Cabe. "It's a long enough day as it is."

"Sometimes I think I'm getting to old for these long days," Cabe said. "Most of the people I came up through the ranks with are retired or dead."

"Are you thinking of retiring?" Walter asked, surprised.

"Not immediately," he said. "But I don't know how much longer I'll be doing this. My heart is giving the doctors some concerns. Blood pressure. And Donny almost fought me off today. I wanted to talk to you about it. Once I'm retired, you'll need a new government connection."

"Who did you have in mind?"

"Armstrong."

Walter felt his lips curl into a frown.

"I thought you guys ended up okay."

Walter exhaled through his nose. "We did. I mean, it's fine, I just...I don't want to take orders from him."

"There was a time you didn't want to take orders from me, either."

"That was different."

"I just thought I'd bring it up," Cabe said. "He's coming in to the L.A. area in a week or so."

"Hmmm."

"Someone will have to take over once I'm out," Cabe said quietly. "And wouldn't it be best to have someone who knows how we work? Someone who actually appreciates how you guys work?"

"Hmmm."

Happy approached with some paper to cram underneath the tepee they'd created in the fire pit. "Just think about it, okay?" Cabe asked.

Walter nodded, glancing across the roof, toward Paige and Ralph. He wasn't threatened by Tim's potential presence. He had his family. But there would always be some residual jealousy, a lingering feeling of unpleasantness. He knew one thing – he did not want to rely on Tim Armstrong for jobs.

"Ray, you can play guitar, right?" Walter glanced across the garage, where Toby was wheeling over to the sound equipment. "We have one, I think." The behaviorist reached down, awkwardly hauling the case into an upright position. "You wanna give us a tune once we get around the fire?" Ray stared at him, his brow furrowed, and Toby cocked his head. "What?"

"How did you get up here?"

* * *

 

"You doing alright, girl?" Paige asked, bumping Linda's hip with her own as she reached for the tongs, ready to start plating the hamburgers.

She smiled. "Yeah. It was pretty rough going this morning, but you know? I feel better now. Not good really – but better. I think..." she trailed off.

Paige smiled. "What?"

"For a few minutes today, I got a sense of what it was like to feel normal again. I felt like me, for the first time since...I honestly don't know when. Not sense I left Hank. I think before that." She bit her lip. "I guess I was unhappy for longer than I thought. I sort of realized that today when I started feeling like I haven't in a long time. I almost can't pinpoint exactly when I would have last had that feeling but I know I felt it today." She looked flustered. "I keep repeating myself I...I just don't know how to explain it. But it feels good, you know?" She looked at Paige, a strength in her eyes that hadn't been there yesterday. "I was in this fog, and I remembered being happy, but I couldn't remember exactly what that felt like. It seemed almost like some myth, or a dream I had. Then today, I felt it again. I almost can't explain it. And then it was gone and I felt really dejected but...like...I had it. I can have it again. And now I remember what it feels like."

Paige slid her arm around Linda's waist and used it to hug her as she used her other hand to put the burgers on the serving plate. "I'm so proud of you, Lin."

"Don't be," she said. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did. You made it this far."

Linda was quiet for a minute. "I suppose I'm still getting used to the idea that sometimes it's okay if all you can boast is you still exist."

"I don't know exactly how you feel," Paige said truthfully – as heartbroken as she was when she realized Drew wasn't coming back, she knew that wasn't the same thing as what Linda was fighting. "But there was a while where I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have Ralph to take care of."

"I guess I just feel like losing love isn't a good enough reason to feel this way. People have it way worse and don't get this bad."

" _Hey_."

It was a _very_ forceful hey, and Paige and Linda turned to see Ray standing behind them, holding a guitar. "You want some burgers?" Paige asked.

"What I want," Ray said, "is for this one right here to understand that she should never have to justify her depression. I told you," he said to Linda, his voice growing quieter, "today about how much I struggled. I wasn't telling you that so you could feel bad for how you feel because you think I had a more valid reason to be depressed. Sometimes it's based on the environment, the people, the situations specific to your life. Sometimes people who seem to have it all are depressed. Sometimes it's just a...a chemical imbalance in your brain. Why doesn't matter. What matters is how you feel and if there's any way you can feel better."

Paige was so very glad that Ray had come into their life.

"Now," Ray said, "Toby's been getting after me to play, so why don't we gather around the little campfire situation that Happy and Cabe have going on over there and we'll get some tunes. Paige, you think you might be willing to lend those vocals of yours a little later?"

Paige smiled. "I think we could make something work."

"Awesome." Ray grinned, heading over to the fire pit.

"You gonna be alright tonight, lady?" Paige asked, hugging Linda again.

The smaller woman smiled. "I think so." She smiled and shook her head. "I can't believe what was one of the worst days of my life turned into this."

Paige closed her eyes and pressed her lips affectionately against Linda's temple. "We're lucky to have you with us, Linda. What?" She asked, pulling back to regard Linda when the woman giggled.

"I'm just thinking about how if I was having this conversation with Walter he'd probably say I was the bomb."

"Oh my god." Paige put a hand up to her face and chuckled. "I'd like to think he knows better by now but oh god he probably would."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Toby said as the group gathered around the pit. "You could have been anywhere in the world tonight, but you're here with us at the Scorpion headquarters, ready to celebrate just how lucky we are to be alive. Because these past two days have been a wild ride, something my wife here is pretty familiar with."

"Mom, I'm not ten years old," Ralph protested when Paige clapped her hands over his ears.

"Anyway," Toby said. "Ray?"

"Toby?" Ray said pointedly. Toby hummed a few notes and Ray nodded, settling down on the chair nearest him. Linda and Sylvester sat on either side of him, Toby in his chair rolled up next to sly, then came Happy, Cabe, Walter, Ralph, and Paige sat down next to Linda, slinging her arm around her shoulders.

Toby cleared his throat. " _Mi mi mi..._ "

"Oh good God," Happy laughed as Ray began to play and Toby cleared his throat before starting to sing.

"I ain't got no car, and I've got one pair of jeans. They've been stretched too far, and now they're weak at the seams..."

Ray grinned, his eyes circling the group, seeming extra pleased at the content expressions on everyone's faces. Paige glanced next to her. Ralph was looking down at his phone. Paige never looked at Ralph's things, but her eye caught the screen. It was a text from Owen.

_I'm really glad that you're okay._

Paige looked away before she read anything else. Ralph would figure things out.

" _And I'm doing just fine, I'm always landing on my feet, in the nick of time and by the skin on my teeth,"_ Toby continued, reaching over and grabbing Happy's hand. Ralph was resting his head on Walter's shoulder, and Linda was smiling.

" _I ain't gonna stress, because the worst ain't happened yet. Something's watching over me like sweet serendipity._ "


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing a bit of a time jump here. I decided that in my outline, I didn't really have enough for the month of July, and all that I did have I could easily put elseware. So basically we are skipping over to the end of July/beginning of August now, so I can start picking up on some of the side storylines.

When Drew called the garage phone to announce that he and Melanie had gotten married, Walter felt relieved.

Initially, they were going to go to the wedding, but over the past month, Ralph had grown quiet whenever the subject of his father came up. And although Walter had a suspicion that Paige knew what was bothering him, he was still in the dark.

He wished he could know. Ralph might be fifteen, as tall as his mother, and full of a teenager's attitude, but when his face shadowed at a mention of Drew, or when he shifted his weight to rest against Walter as they watched TV, Walter saw the eight year old boy he'd met in the diner where Paige used to work. He wanted to protect him. He wanted to know what was bothering him and he wanted to make it better.

And if Walter was honest with himself, when Drew called to announce he and Melanie had gotten married, Walter had been glad that they hadn't been invited because it meant he and Paige were not obligated to invite Drew and Melanie to theirs.

Of course, if Paige wanted to ask them, Walter wouldn't protest. But just as he was glad that Tim Armstrong had not come to L.A. the week after Texas as Cabe had predicted – he'd had engagements in D.C. – he was glad that they had an excuse to not send out that particular invitation.

He did hate that there was still those niggling unpleasant feelings associated with both Drew and Tim, even though Paige's relationship with the latter hadn't been all that serious. The feeling he got whenever he thought about Tim Armstrong wasn't envy as it used to be, but it reminded him of a version of himself that he now loathed – a version that hurt people he loved because he was in denial, or because he was scared. They'd been together over three years now, and Walter knew he had been far from perfect – he'd made a million mistakes if he'd made one – but he had _never_ hurt her in their relationship as much as he had the year before that, when he was pushing his feelings for her away and letting her believe she wasn't important to him. While he didn't like the idea of taking orders from him either, thinking of Tim Armstrong mainly just made Walter despise himself.

With Drew, he knew the feeling was jealousy, that he'd known Paige first, that they'd shared in the experience of her carrying Ralph. That he'd been there when the boy had been born. Walter had seen a picture once, of Paige propped up in a hospital bed, Drew sitting next to her with an arm around her shoulders and his other arm tucked under both of hers as she cradled a newborn Ralph. They were both smiling, and Paige was leaning into Drew, as if all she needed in the whole world were the two other people in that bed.

Walter's jealousy raged every time he thought about that picture. _You left them alone. You didn't deserve that moment._

Megan's baby kicked against his side, forcefully, and Walter tipped his head look at Paige. She didn't move; her slow, easy breathing hadn't even hitched. Walter smiled. The past week or so Paige had been uncomfortable, the rapid growth of the baby as they approached the sixth month had both delighted and frustrated her, as with it had come the introduction of back pain and aversions to food she'd loved before. Some of those foods were ones that were recommended to her to keep her radiation damage under control, so she forced it down – though sometimes it came right back up. And some days, like today, she was just so exhausted that she napped in the middle of the day, and he would lay down with her, because his presence relaxed her, helped her sleep.

The baby kicked again, and Walter rolled his upper lip under. That was another complicated feeling. He most certainly was not jealous of Paige carrying this child instead of his own. But...although he and Paige had never talked about having children of their own, and as much as he loved Ralph with every atom that was a part of him, Walter knew now that having a baby with Paige was something that he _did_ want.

But was it fair to her? Her pregnancy wasn't complicated, so far, by her diagnosis. But what if she got worse? People could talk all they wanted about pregnancy being a happy and magical time, but it was few women who went through the entire process without feeling at least somewhat miserable at times. And Paige had a condition that would probably, somewhere down the line, end her life. Would it be fair of him to even _ask_ her if she wanted to have a baby with him? He knew men brought it up with their girlfriend and wives all the time but Walter almost felt as if it should be the one who would get pregnant that should breach the topic first. People could complain all day long about "dealing with" their moody partners, but pregnancy was always harder for the pregnant person, and this was one situation where Walter couldn't take on the burden for her. If Walter told Paige that he wanted to have children with her, what if she felt like she had to oblige him?

"What's wrong?"

Paige was scooting closer to him, shifting her weight, still half asleep. She ran her hand over his chest. "You feel tense."

"I just got a cramp," he lied, rubbing her back. "Go back to sleep."


	59. Chapter 59

Happy knew she shouldn't feel as nervous as she did. After all, only she and Toby knew why they were really there, at this small food place in Beatty Junction – a place they'd been directed to by Happy's P.I., Jackie. But there was always a possibility that they'd be recognized, and although she was extremely confidant in her and Toby's abilities to lie...

"Hi, welcome to the outpost. My name is June, and I'll be taking care of you today. Do you have any questions before...you order?"

The girl trailed off near the end of her sentence, pausing for just a moment. But Happy knew they'd been recognized.

"You folks look familiar. Have you been around these parts before?"

Happy couldn't tell if she actually knew where she'd seen them before or not, but Toby was already spilling out the lie. "We were here a few months ago and thought the food was pretty good, so we're passing by on our way to Vegas and figured we'd eat here again. The fries, they're...they're something else."

"I do have to agree with you on that," June said, nodding. "They're pretty good, especially with the sea salt, or with the cheese. Which did you have?"

"I think we had the regular seasoning, isn't that right, darling?" Toby said.

"We'll have to try them with sea salt and cheese this time," Happy responded. "One of each, please?"

"Sure thing." June made no move to write it down on her notepad. "Anything to drink?"

"Just water for me," Happy said. Toby nodded.

"Of course," June said, smiling. "I'll get those drinks right out and put your fry orders in. Let me know if you have any questions on the rest of the menu."

"Thank you _so_ much," Toby said, with a little more emphasis on the word _so_ than Happy might have liked. She cleared her throat quietly, trying to not be overly critical. She knew Toby was here mostly for her sake, and she was so determined to learn about June that she would be kidding herself if she thought she was being completely rational.

"She looks good," Toby said in a low voice when June disappeared into the back.

"Yeah, she does," Happy said. "I wonder where she is living."

"That might be information she'd have to offer up herself."

"I know that, jackass." Happy rolled her eyes.

June returned with their water. "Do you guys know what entrées you'd like?"

"What do you recommend?" Toby asked. "We just had the burgers last time."

"The burgers are good," June said. "But you know, the chicken fingers are phenomenal."

Toby and Happy ordered, and June ran back to the kitchen. "So," Happy said when she returned. "Did you live here all your life?"

"No," June said. "I grew up a few hours from here. But I wanted to get away. It wasn't all that fun."

"I feel that," Toby said. "I spent my childhood wanting to get away too."

"Yeah. Thankfully I don't have a lot of family to feel bad about leaving."

"No sisters?" Toby asked, realizing his potential mistake immediately. "Or brothers?"

"No," June said, "not in my family."

Happy frowned.

"So where are _you guys_ from?" she asked, resting a hand on their table.

"I went to Harvard," Toby blurted. Happy had to consciously stop herself from slapping her forehead with her hand.

"Oh wow," she said. "You must be really smart, then."

"We both are," Toby said. "We're geniuses."

June raised her eyebrows, looking impressed. "Dang. Two geniuses here in Beatty Junction. I'll have to tell the others." Smiling, she backed away, turning to head back into the kitchen."

Happy and Toby didn't speak, but they both raised their eyebrows at each other, and Happy knew Toby was wondering the same thing.

People made small talk about their families all the time. A lot of people had siblings. Why did June lie about having a sister?

* * *

"Okay, so I know you said you didn't want to think about your divorce hearing tomorrow," Ray said, "but consider this."

"Ray," Sylvester said. "She said she didn't want us bringing it up until..."

"Tell Hank you're doing well and then trot out this joke to prove it. Ask him why the chicken crossed the road," Ray said, making sure Linda was looking at him. "And then say it was to get to the asshole's house. Look at him and grin like you're expecting him to laugh."

Linda cocked her head, confused. "What?"

" _Then_ ," Ray continued, say "knock knock!" and when he asks who is there, grin triumphantly and say, " _the chicken_!"

Sylvester snorted. "Oh okay," he said, glancing at Linda, "that's pretty good."

Linda shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She'd been feeling a lot better the past few weeks. Paige went for walks with her, Walter taught her how to master Proton Arnold, and Ray and Sylvester were great at distracting her when she was at the garage. Thankfully, since Ray lived there too, she was never completely by herself.

Once her divorce was finalized – an event that was hopefully just one day away – she knew she would probably feel a bit odd for a little while, but oddly, being divorced didn't upset her that much. She'd always been someone who desired love, a lifelong partner, above all else, and she _still_ desperately wanted that one day, but she was coming to view her divorce as something that had to happen, a stepping stone to whatever future happiness that might await her. Hank – and the heartbreak that he had brought upon her, had given her a clearer picture of what she was looking for.

The garage phone rang, startling her and her friends. "I've got it," Ray said, scooting over to the desk. He pressed the speaker button. "Scorpion HQ, this is Ray, come to play?"

"What?"

Linda cocked her head. She didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the line – but then, most of the calls on the garage phone were work related. And she wasn't part of the team.

"Scor- _pi-on_ H... _Q_..." Ray said slowly. "This is _Ray_. Come to _play_?"

"Look, can I just talk to Paige, please?"

"She's not here right now," Ray said. "Can I take a message?"

"What about Ralph?"

Ah, Linda thought. It was Drew Baker.

"Ralph's not around either, dude," Ray said.

"Okay." The voice sounded tired. "What about Walter?"

"Strike three, my man," Ray said. "I can take that message, though."

"It's Drew Baker. Ralph's father."

"Baker?" He cocked his head. "You sure that's your last name?"

"I'm sorry, who did you say this was?"

Ray feigned hurt. "It's Ray. I'm Walter's best friend."

"Okay, whatever, look, is there anyone else I can talk to?"

"Sure." Ray made eye contact with Linda and pointed at the phone. "It's for you."

Linda rolled her eyes, amused. She scooted the chair over to the desk, clearing her throat to give off her best professional voice. "Melinda Lewis, Scorpion HQ." Ray's eyes lit up and he gave her a double thumbs up. She wasn't sure if the thumbs up was related to her use of _Scorpion HQ_ or her effortless use of her maiden name, but she grinned in response.

"Yeah, hi, this is Drew Baker, I'm Ralph's father."

"Ah yes, Drew," Linda said, acting as if she hadn't already heard the entire conversation. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, I got married four days ago to my girlfriend, kinda a spur of the moment thing, we were intially going to do it at Christmas, and..." Drew trailed off, seemingly deciding that Linda did not need to know his entire life story. "Just tell Paige...or Ralph or Walter or whoever...that Melanie went into labor last night and the baby should be here within a couple of hours. And I know Paige had said that she was thinking of them coming up here when the baby's born, and I know it's two weeks early, but...yeah just let them know, please?"

"Of course," Linda said. "I'll write that down on this stationary here and leave it on the message board, okay?" Ray clapped a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter.

"Thank you. Melinda, is it?"

"That's right."

"Thanks. Gotta go." Drew hung up.

Ray rolled off the desk in his laughter, and Linda grinned, glancing at Sylvester, who also had a hand over his mouth. "Oh God," Sylvester said, "Linda, that was perfect." He bounded over to the desk, picking Linda up and spinning her around. "They are _never_ going to leave the three of us alone here again."


	60. Chapter 60

The airport wasn't as busy as it'd been the last time they'd visited Portland, but they had found their flight last minute, at a discounted rate for the lack of a full plane. Thankfully – a word Paige did not often associate with her ex-boyfriend – Drew met them at the airport, on time and ready to drive them to their hotel.

"Hey guys!" Drew smiled when he saw them approach, then his eyes shifted down. Paige's top stretched to cover her stomach, and she realized as his face changed that she still had not told Drew about the surrogacy.

Drew's eyes shifted from Paige's stomach to Walter, then looked back at Paige. "Whoa."

She waved her hand dismissively, adjusting the grip on her rolling luggage. "It's Sylvester's. Ralph, can you grab this from me?"

Drew leaned back slightly, holding up his hands as his face contorted in confusion. "Uh, _what_?"

Ralph smirked, staying close to his mother, bumping his left shoulder behind her right one as he took the bag.

"Paige?" He cocked his head. "Care to give me a little more?" He looked at Walter again, who looked as if he had no idea what to say.

"It's not mine, Drew," Paige said. "I'm carrying for Sylvester and Megan."

"When were you going to tell me?" Drew asked.

"What about this is any of your business?" Ralph asked.

"Ralph," Walter said warningly. Paige was surprised at his tone, but then, he didn't know why Ralph and Drew were at odds. He probably was trying to do her a favor and keep things relatively confrontation free, because Paige of all people knew he usually never hesitated to pick a fight with Drew, especially if that included siding with her son.

To her surprise, Drew simply stared at her son for a moment, then moved past his remark. "Well, I'm sure they're very excited to...uh... _he's_...probably..."

Apparently, Drew had only remembered mid-sentence that Megan was dead.

"How are Melanie and Vince?" Paige asked.

"They're good," he said, "they're really good. Long labor, though. Twenty five hours. Like Ralph's."

"I was thirty hours," Ralph said, not making eye contact.

"Right, yes, thirty hours." He looked at Ralph, biting his lower lip. "Well, let's go ahead and put these bags of yours in the car and we'll get you to the hotel. Melanie is very excited to see you all tomorrow."

Ralph still wouldn't look at his father.

Paige remembered when Drew had told her that Melanie was pregnant, and how she'd very nearly told him, because it was one of those phrases people just said, that _you're gonna be a great dad._ She'd stopped herself, but now she was more thankful than ever that the words hadn't slipped out.

* * *

The ride to the hotel was awkward, at best. Drew answered all their questions about Vince, he was eight pounds, twenty inches, he had Melanie's smile, and Drew's nose. He was born at one twenty four that morning, after thirty minutes of pushing, and the first thing he did was pee all over one of the medical students. A couple times, Drew had addressed Ralph directly, but the boy didn't hear. He had his headphones in and was staring out the window, doing the best he could to completely avoid the conversation. Neither Paige nor Walter attempted to convince him to engage.

"I'll come get you guys at nine tomorrow," Drew had said. "They're going to release Melanie in the afternoon, but she wants to see you guys in the morning beforehand."

Ralph had disappeared in the direction of the pool as soon as Walter had given him a room key, mumbling something about being back for dinner. Paige let him go. She did hate that her son was so agitated by this trip.

"You know he knows we only have made him come to meet his brother," Walter said quietly, once they were in their room.

"He does know that, I just..." she dropped her luggage on one of the beds, turning to face him. "He's uncomfortable. Drew isn't a safe place for Ralph and we're basically forcing him to be around him and I just feel like that's wrong."

"You know Drew wanted us to stay at the house. We're making Ralph see him as little as possible. He'll be okay."

Paige sank down onto the bed. "Walter, I have something to tell you."

He lowered himself on the other bed, facing her. "What don't I know?"

Paige put her head in her hands. "Okay, so..." she sighed. The baby kicked her hard in the ribs, and Paige wondered if it was some kind of warning to not reveal to Walter why Ralph was so upset. "So apparently, a couple months ago, Ralph video chatted with Drew."

She stopped, distressed because she didn't know how to continue, distressed because the silence that passed as she _thought about_ how to continue was clearly putting Walter into a state of worry.

Walter liked facts. She should just come out with it. "He asked Drew if he would give up his parental rights so that you could adopt him. Drew said no."

Walter was silent, sitting forward, hands folded between his parted knees, and he didn't move a muscle in the seconds after Paige spoke. She recognized that he was processing, and she gave him a moment. When his eyes closed, she shifted her weight. "Walter?"

"What did Drew say?"

Paige bit her lip. "He said...he said that he's the one that got me pregnant. And that that meant that he was his father, no matter what."

"It shouldn't matter," Walter said quickly. "He knows how I feel about him I...I know how he feels about me it...it sh-shouldn't matter."

His hands were shaking. Paige reached forward and put a hand over them, but had to lean back almost immediately. Leaning forward like that pressed the baby down, and her bladder protested. "I know we can talk about how it shouldn't matter, Walter," she said, "but he wants it all. With you. And..." she hadn't spoken to Ralph about this specifically, but she had a feeling... "I think he's upset that I can marry you, and I'm legally your wife, for all intents and purposes, and he can't just make the same decision, to have your relationship be legally recognized. It makes him feel powerless and controlled, and unable to commit to what you two have on the same level that I can."

Walter nodded slowly. "Are...are we making a mistake?"

"By getting married?"

"I'm just...with what you're saying. What if our progressing relationship is making Ralph feel like he's being left behind?"

"Are you saying you don't want to get married?" Paige's voice cracked as her ring glinted in the light from the window. "Walter," she said, her voice growing shrill. "Walter _what are you saying_?"

"Of course I want to marry you," Walter said, dropping to his knees and walking the short distance to her, putting his hands on her hips and resting his chin on her stomach as he looked up at her. "I _love you_ , Paige." He rose up and kissed her and she curled her hands around the front of his shirt, begging him to not move away. "I want to marry you, I do," he continued, sitting down on the bed next to her. "I just don't know what to do. I don't want this to be distressing for Ralph."

Paige thought that if they called off their engagement, or postponed the wedding, it might upset Ralph more than this. He was a genius – he'd know why they were doing it. But...

She fell backward against the mattress, putting her hands over her eyes. "I suppose we could just stay engaged until he's eighteen."

She felt the mattress shift as Walter laid back next to her, their legs dangling off the side of the bed. Removing her hands from her face, she rested them on her chest, tipping her head to the side to see him. "I wish..."

He rolled on his side, sliding a hand over her stomach. "Let's just get through these next two days. We haven't even talked about a date yet, you know."

"I hate him." Paige had always withheld that word, especially in front of her son. _Letting a child hear you express dislike for their other parent is like telling the child that half of them is bad._ But she couldn't help it, not this time, not when she was pregnant and emotional and fiercely protective of her child and of the family that they had created with Walter. Perhaps she was overreacting, but at the moment she didn't care. "I hate him, I hate him." She shifted her weight and her position, burying her head into Walter's chest, her words coming out in a weak whisper. "I hate him."


	61. Chapter 61

"Hey fellas."

The greeting was met with stares of disbelief. Sylvester and Happy glanced at each other. Toby's eyes shot up. "Tim Armstrong."

He shifted his weight awkwardly. "Cabe didn't tell you I was going to be stopping by, did he?"

"He did," Happy said. "Just he said it wouldn't be until the end of the month now."

"Yeah. Uh, I realize I got here a little earlier than planned, but you know. Plans change." His eyes fell on Linda. "Have we met?"

"I uh...I don't think we ever actually did, no," she said. "But I know who you are."

He grinned. "Do you now?"

"She dated Walter for a bit before you started dating Paige," Sylvester offered up after a moment of silence that felt much longer."

"Ah." Tim nodded. "The other troublemaker."

Linda chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, it is nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand. "And I do apologize for dropping in unexpectedly, but you know, when you're away so much, you really get a better sense of what's home to you. And my home is _definitely_ the United States. So I thought, why prolong being back here when I'm given the chance?"

Linda's face softened slightly.

"So how long will you be in L.A., Tim?" Sylvester asked, glancing between the SEAL and Linda. "Few days, few...weeks?"

"Just a couple of days. Though I might – I don't know if Cabe told you this, but – I might be around on a fairly permanent basis in a couple of months."

"Cabe may have ever so _briefly_ mentioned _one time_ that he _may_ be retiring," Toby said. "He's not made any official decision yet, though."

"No, of course not," Tim said. "But if he does decide to retire, you guys will need a new government handler. And I really enjoyed working with you all. By the way, buddy, what happened to you?"

Toby did not much care for being called _buddy_. "Stepped on a land mine. And it's _doctor_. Ow!" He said when Happy bumped her elbow against his head. "Fine," he said. "Stepped on a land mine, and it's _Toby_."

"I remember your name, Toby," Tim said with a laugh. "Where's the rest?"

"Cabe is in meetings with some very important FBI people today," Sylvester said. "And Walter, Paige, and Ralph are in Maine."

"Maine?" Tim looked confused for the briefest instant. "Oh, right – the father."

"The father, the new step mother, and the little newborn baby brother."

"Wow." Tim placed his hands on his hips and nodded. "Lot has changed."

"Good thing the baby came a little early," Happy said. "Because they don't really like women flying in the third trimester and Paige is just about there."

Tim's eyes widened. "Paige is pregnant?"

Toby nodded. "Yeah. It's Sylvester's."

" _What_?"

"Sur...Surrogacy," Sylvester said, giving Toby an amused glare. "My wife passed away. Before we met you. Paige is carrying our baby for me. Us."

"Damn," Tim said, shaking his head. "I leave for five minutes and..."

"Two years." Happy was quick to correct.

"I can't believe it's been that long. Well," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "glad I'll be seeing a little more of you guys for a while." He turned to Toby. "You gotta tell me about Egypt."

* * *

"Did you see the look on his face when I said the baby was Sly's?" Paige said, giggling. Walter chuckled along with her, his eyes also laughing, but she thought she noticed the brightness in them fade after mere seconds. "Is something wrong? I mean, other than..." she gestured vaguely to the room to signify the situation with Drew and Ralph.

"No," he said. "Noth-nothing's wrong at all."

She sighed. She knew that specific stammer. "Walter."

"Nothing," he said, pushing her gently onto her back, getting her belly out of the way so he could scoot closer. Still on his side, he cuddled close and smiled at her. "I'm just thinking about Ralph."

He was thinking about Ralph – that she knew – but his mind had gone somewhere else just moments ago. Paige thought back to what she had said. "Walter, is it starting to bother you that I'm carrying your sister's baby?"

"No." He said it quickly, and she did believe him. "No, oh God, this baby..." he shook his head, sliding his hand over her stomach. "Paige, it's wonderful. It won't...it won't be like Megan is here again. But it'll be the next best thing. I just..." he trailed off, bringing back the lying – to – you smile. "Nothing."

"Walter," she said, reaching for one of his hands. "Tell me."

"I want to have kids with you."

The words came out fast, in a rush, probably before he realized he was even saying them. Paige's mouth fell open slightly, and then she opened it farther, feeling like she needed to speak, but having no idea how to respond.

Part of her felt resentment. She was sick – she was permanently sick – and that made her food aversions actually dangerous. She was exhausted almost all the time and her back was hurting, and in just a couple months her body was going to go through the most taxing natural process that a human could endure. And here he was, saying that he wanted to put her through all of that _again_.

But another part of her wanted to roll on top of him and make a baby right this instant, even though in her current condition it was of course impossible. She loved him. Many times, over the years, she'd thought about how she was likely never going to have another child and it had filled her with something not unlike sadness, and even regret.

There'd been one night – the last night Ralph had seen Drew prior to his arrival at the Team Scorpion garage – where he'd come to see them on his layover to Mexico, and she and he had fought, fought over his schedule, fought over his lack of phone calls and lack of general presence in their lives, fought over bills and babysitters and commitment and they'd ultimately heated up the tiny kitchen table with nothing artificial in use and then he was _just gone_.

At the time, she'd been extremely relieved to have woken up three weeks later to the uncomfortable boggy feeling in her lower abdomen that signaled to her even before getting out of bed that she had not conceived again. And for the most part, including now, she was still relieved. But there had been times in the interim...

But now she was in the relationship that she knew she would be in for the rest of her life, and it awoke her maternal desires that had been kindly lying dormant for years. She had pushed them aside – she and Walter had never talked about children of their own and she didn't want to make him feel like he was obligated to oblige her wish to add to their family – and pretended that those feelings didn't exist; she'd even flat out denied them in the past. And here he was, laying here with her, telling her that he it too.

But that damn radiation.

"I...uh..." she managed, clearing her throat. "I don't know what to...um..."

"I'm sorry," he said rolling onto his back. "That was incredibly inappropriate."

"No!" She shook her head. "No, it wasn't. I just..." she ran her pointer finger around her stomach. "It's not a real good time for me, you know..."

Walter chuckled. Paige was glad that he picked up on her using that word choice for humor. "I know. I just was thinking about it last week. Your belly against me, feeling her kick..." He bit his lip. "I just started thinking about how I didn't get to experience any of that with Ralph, and I started thinking about how much I would feel, getting those kicks and knowing that it was you and me." He sighed. "Paige, I just want you to know...I'm not asking you." He looked at her. "I'm not even asking you to think about it. It's just...this is something that had been on my mind, and I don't know if this counts as dumping in but I...you're my space."

"You're not dumping in," she said, reaching over to grab his hand. "We're an engaged couple and we're discussing things that a lot of couples discuss."

They both jumped when the door opened. With the light in the hallway, Ralph's shadow preceded him, and it froze before either Walter or Paige could see the boy. "Please tell me you two are decent."

Paige laughed. "Yes, Ralph."

Her son crossed the room and sat on the other bed, biting his lip. "Can we go get something to eat? I just...I can't be alone. I just keep thinking."

"Hey, buddy," Walter said, sitting up and making eye contact with the boy. "Your mom told me why you're upset."

Ralph looked away immediately, and Walter got up and sat on the other bed next to him. "Ralph, please look at me. Hey, Ralph."

Paige watched as her son slowly turned back to face him. Walter put an arm around his shoulders. "We don't have to talk about it. I just want you to know that..." He stopped, and Paige saw his throat tighten up like it always did before he got really sentimental. "Ralph, I love you more than words can say. Drew may be on your birth certificate, but you know what?"

Ralph's tone was flat. "What."

" _You're here with me_. Because when it comes to what's legal and the way someone feels, the feelings always win. And I know both you and I have struggled with that reality in the past, but we both know it's true. And Ralph..." the boy had looked down at his knees, but at the sound of his name, his eyes lifted to Walter again. "I am never going away. And I will never stop loving you."

Ralph nodded slowly, and Paige saw a glint of tears in his eyes. "I know. That's why..." he trailed off, looking down and lifting a hand to his face to wipe his eyes.

"I know." Walter pulled Ralph against him, holding him tightly. "I know."


	62. Chapter 62

"Paige."

The broad smile that accompanied her name made Paige smile too. "Hey, Mel. How you doing?"

"I'm so sore."

Paige laughed. "I understand."

"Seems like you're going to understand all over again soon." Melanie raised her eyebrows, one hand absentmindedly me running over her I.V. tube. "Drew says you're surrogating for Sylvester."

"Yeah," Paige said, tucking a hand under her stomach. "I'm due in November."

Ralph was still in the car. He refused to see Drew, and Paige went in to see Melanie and the baby first so she could pull Drew aside afterward and distract him while Ralph met his little brother.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"A girl," Paige said.

"That's lovely." Melanie yawned. "Sorry. I didn't sleep at all last night. I couldn't stop looking at this baby." She shook her head, looking down at Vince. "I love Drew. But when Vinny was born..." She adjusted his blanket so they could better see his face. "I didn't realize how much love I had within me. And Drew, the way he looked at him..." she trailed off. "You know before him, I didn't really believe in the concept of forever. Everything ends. You know?"

Paige nodded.

_Vanessa had only been working at the diner for two weeks. She was nineteen, a college dropout, her entire family wiped out by gang violence ("the police don't care about protecting poor black folks", Paige had overheard her telling another co – worker). That was all Paige knew about her, other than she was a recovering drug addict; "eleven days clean so far!" she'd declared on her first day. The two of them hadn't talked much – Paige was Vanessa's shift relief – but as soon as the younger woman's eyes landed on Paige that morning, she'd known something was wrong. "Paige," she said, her voice laden with concern. "Paige, honey, what's wrong?"_

_Paige collapsed into one of the booths and burst into tears. She thought she'd gotten them all out the previous night, while Ralph was sleeping, but as she began to walk him to preschool that morning, she'd felt her eyes welling up again. She'd fought it this long, but now, with someone expressing concern, it became impossible to continue to hide._

" _Paige," Vanessa said with more force, dropping down next to her. "Talk to me, baby."_

_Paige did. She spilled everything, about how they'd been evicted just two months before, how she'd gotten this job, how she and Ralph were just starting to put their lives back together, how Drew had returned, for just six hours, and when he disappeared again the following morning, she knew he really wasn't ever coming back. How she still loved him even though she knew he was wrong for her. How she just wanted to move on and feel better._

_Vanessa wrapped her thin arms tightly around Paige, rocking her gently. "I know it hurts, baby," she said. "But you'll be okay." She kissed Paige's cheek. "God has someone better for you. And you have to go through this to meet him. But you will. God's got him for you, baby, and when the time is right he'll walk into your life and take you and that baby of yours in his arms and you will be so happy. I know you will, Paige, because you are so good. You just gotta get through this."_

_Vanessa held Paige until she stopped crying._

"I know Drew wants to talk to you," Melanie said, bringing Paige back to the present. "But you wanna hold him first? He is Ralph's brother, after all."

Paige eagerly accepted the baby. It'd been years since she'd gotten to hold one, and she loved how warm and new Vince felt in her arms. "He's gorgeous, Mel. He looks just like you."

Melanie smiled broadly. "You think so?"

"Carbon copy." She smiled. "Hey, little guy." Looking back at Melanie, Paige hesitated. "Mel, I know you...I mean I'm sure you're aware...I don't know what Ralph's relationship with his father is going to be in the future. But I want you to know that no matter what, if you guys need anything...you get ahold of me. Ralph's the only one in my family that's related to Vince but that doesn't matter. You guys need anything at all, we're always one phone call away."

Melanie smiled. "I hope you know that goes both ways."

* * *

 

"So you just...don't know? Then? How much it's going to affect you down the road?"

Paige nodded. Ralph was in Melanie's hospital room now, having left Walter and the car only when Paige promised he wouldn't have to talk to his father. So she'd pulled Drew aside, and he'd offered to buy her some food. She'd declined – it wasn't on her special diet – and that led to her confessing the effects of the radiation. It wasn't as if it was supposed to be a big secret. "I could be basically fine for fifty years. Or, ten years down the road..." she trailed off.

"Damn." He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"It's been an adjustment," she said. "But I have a special diet, and you know, medicine is getting better all the time, so...down the road..." She shrugged. "But yeah. It's been rough."

"I'm sorry, Pigeon," he said, using his old nickname for her. "I can't even imagine. Walter's...he's there for you? Good," he said when she nodded. "He's good for you." He paused. "You know, Paige, we may not love each other anymore, but I'll always care about you. I want you to be happy, and and I'm glad that you found him."

"Thank you." She turned to look through the glass, where Melanie was with Ralph and little Vince. "You already know I think you and Melanie are each other's supposed to be."

Drew didn't know that when she had tried explaining to five year old Ralph why his father kept failing to come home, she'd told him _sometimes people get into relationships and then they find out that they aren't who they are supposed to be with._ Ralph had then begun to refer to happy couples as being with their "supposed to be." She still sometimes mistakenly referred to people as that, a supposed to be, but Drew didn't seem to notice or care about her odd word choice.

"Uh...Paige..." Drew began awkwardly, and she turned to look at him. He looked at her long enough for her to turn her attention to him, then he looked away, back toward his wife and younger son. "I'm older now. I understand the magnitude of what it's like to be a parent." Drew's eyes were still in the other room. "When I look at him, Paige, I just...I feel..."

She nodded. "I know."

Drew looked at her, shifting awkwardly, clearing his throat. "This is how Walter feels when he looks at Ralph, isn't it?"

She bit her lip, pushing down the comments she wanted to make, ignoring the resentment that was bubbling within her. Drew _didn't_ feel that way when he looked at Ralph. But Paige found it easier than ever before to let those feelings go. Because Drew was right. "Yes."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know a few months back...I've been doing a lot of thinking about when Ralph called me. I was angry. I actually still am, but I'm not exactly sure at what, or at who. And...I don't want you to think that I'm trying to push him out of my life now that I have Vince, but...I've decided that I'm going to terminate my parental rights to Ralph. So Walter can adopt him."

Paige's eyes widened slightly. "What?" She asked, even though she'd heard him clearly.

"I know how it feels," he said, his voice increasing in volume as he gestured back toward the room, "I know how it feels to be completely overwhelmed by a child, to be willing to lay down your life right now just to give them another day. And...and if that's how Walter feels about him...then he should be his father. He's the one who has never let him down." His eyes had wandered back to the newborn. "Just like I'm never letting this little guy down."

"Ha-have you talked to Ralph about this?"

"Not yet." He nodded. "But I will. I uh...I want to make sure he knows why."

"Because you want his father to be someone who loves him as much as you love Vince."

"Yeah. I used to think parenting was about...was about you made the kid, so he's yours. But it's about more than that. A lot more."

Paige watched as Drew's eyes shifted back to his younger son. If it was years ago, she'd have been hurt, furious even, at the clear evidence that Drew felt things for Vince that he never had – and never would – for Ralph. Instead, she felt almost liberated, as if the final pieces of some complex puzzle were finally falling into place.

He glanced back at Vince, a smile playing over his lips, then looked back at Paige. They stood a few feet apart, then stepped forward, hugging each other close for the first time in years, her hips twisted to the side to get her stomach out of the way.

Paige smiled, her chin resting on his shoulder. "You're gonna be a great dad."

They were the words that she had, only yesterday, sworn that Drew Baker would never deserve. But today, she meant them.


	63. Chapter 63

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while.  Mix of things in real life.  But anyway.  I'm really excited for what I have planned for the rest of this fic so I hope you all stick with it and please let me know what you think.

"Surprise!"

Walter, Paige, and Ralph stopped, six eyebrows shooting up at the sight of a bipedal Toby. "Look at you!" Paige said excitedly.

"It's...my chair is right here," he said, gesturing to behind the desk. "But I'm doing really well at the therapy center and I thought I'd practice."

"Are you sure that's a..."

"I'm a doctor."

"The man raises a fair point, Mom," Ralph said, dropping his bag on the floor. "I'm going to catch a bus to the library. There's a book I want to get."

"Uh, no," Paige said. "After that Gentry case the other week? No busses."

"I'll take him," Happy said. "I was just about to go to Quincy's and it's right there."

"Mom?"

Paige shrugged. "Sure."

"I'll tell them about my idea," Toby said. "While you two are gone."

"Yeah, you do that," Happy said, rolling her eyes.

"Your idea?" Walter asked, glancing at Paige. She shrugged.

"Okay so _here's_ my idea," Toby said, "and it's gonna sound really weird at first but just bear with me, okay?" He stood, shakily, not taking a step, reaching out toward the desk to steady himself. "Tim and Linda."

"No," Walter said immediately.

"Hear me out!" Toby said. "She's a speed dating coordinator. And their couple name, you know, like we're Quintis and Waige, would be Tinda."

Paige put a hand to her mouth to mask her snicker. Walter frowned in confusion. "What?"

"That dating app that was big a few years back, Tinder," Paige said. "Tinda sounds like Tinder, and she organizes speed dating events."

"She...also just got out of a marriage that fell apart because her husband was always gone," Walter said. "You said yourself Tim wouldn't work because he's never around either."

"But he may be around now," Toby said. "He could be our new handler after Cabe retires, remember?"

Walter grunted. "Is he around?"

"I asked him to go take Linda for frozen yogurt," Toby said. "Said she needs to get out and get some fresh air and would he be so kind."

"Oh good," Walter said. "Maybe they'll meet someone there who'll think they're a couple and he can trot out his Paris story again. _Ow_!"

"My other elbow is gonna go south of your ribs," Paige said under her breath.

"Look, I know that you can't love someone's mental illness away," Toby said. "Believe me, I know that. But Linda deserves someone who might make her believe in love again. Doesn't she?"

* * *

 "Hey buddy, what are you doing?"

"Radiation research." Ralph looked up and smiled broadly.

Walter had to stop for a moment, nearly short circuiting at the look the boy gave him. Ever since Drew had given them the news – ever since Paige had hugged his arm and said _you're going to be a father_ – things had been different. It was that new relationship feeling, where everything was perfect.

Walter cleared his throat, hoping to use that rush of euphoria to his – and Ralph's – advantage.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure." He closed his book. "The internet is the best resource for this of course, but there's an interesting theory dating back to 1988 that..." He trailed off. "What?"

"Well, you know, I'm...well, I'm going to be your father, Ralph. And there's a couple things I want to talk to you about."

"Oh God." Ralph's expression was part amused, part annoyed. "Am I getting the no sex no drugs don't spend your money frivolously and no alcohol until you're twenty one talk?"

Walter blinked. "No. Look, Ralph." He put his hand on the book in Ralph's lap. "I can see where this is going. Okay? If we're going to be a family, the three of us need to be a family. _Be_ is a verb, you know. It's an action. It's not a state."

"I'm familiar with parts of speech." Ralph cocked his head. "Walter, what is this about?"

Walter sighed. "Ralph, I know you want to save your mom. And believe me, I would give almost anything to be able to give her a normal life again. But do you know the one thing I won't do?" He didn't wait for the boy to answer. "I won't give my time with her away." He cleared his throat. "You know how much I regret not spending more time with my sister. I saw her every week. I could have gone every day. Or...or twice a week. But I was a different person then and that person was so focused on research and accomplishment that I couldn't fully understand what I was missing. I loved my sister. But I was driven by my fear of losing her and that fear caused me to lose more of her than I could have. Ralph." He paused a moment before speaking again. "Ralph, whether it's related to the radiation or not, one day in the future, your mother is going to die. And you may or may not have been able to do more to prolong her life, but you have to think about her. Ralph, it's harder for us to empathize than normal people, but do you think she wants you to lock yourself away for days at a time working on this cure? Or do you think she wants to see your face? To...to hear you laugh? To go places with? To _experience life_?" He shook his head slowly. "Ralph, years ago, I never would have understood that. Your mom helped me understand. And I'm not going to throw that away. And I don't want you to either."

Ralph looked down, avoiding eye contact. He was silent for what felt like ages, then sighed. "I just want to help her."

"I know. Just...sometimes...we have to figure out what the person we want to help considers helping. We have to look at what they want. And sometimes...what they want is actually what we want too."

"So work on my research but...but don't let it interfere with my relationship with my mom."

"Exactly." He nodded. "And one more thing?"

"What?"

"Talk to Owen. Tell him how you feel."

"No!"

"Ralph." Walter kept his tone level. "Think about it." He ran his hand through the boy's hair as he stood up. As he passed the mirror on the wall next to the door to the bedroom, Walter saw that Ralph was watching him go.


	64. Chapter 64

"Hey," Happy said, marching into the apartment and tossing her bag over the back of the rocking chair. "What are you doing later?"

Toby had managed to get out of his wheelchair and settle on the couch, and he looked up, raising his eyebrows. "You?"

She stopped, raising her eyebrows. _Damn, that was smooth,_ she thought _._ And she was totally game, but not now. "Okay, but before that."

"...you?"

"Toby."

He shrugged. "My schedule is clear. Completely. Crystal. Claritin. You name it. What do you have in mind, Hap?"

"Well," she said, "I've been texting June." The girl had given her her number on their third visit to the junction.

"I know," Toby said. "You've been telling her some personal but not too personal details about your own personal life to get her to open up a bit to you about personal things."

"Yes," Happy said. "And we _really_ need to get you a thesaurus."

"Shut up."

Happy smirked. He was in good spirits. He'd been in good spirits a lot more lately. She knew he hadn't liked having his independence restricted by being in the chair, and even though he still required it, he was starting to have tangible evidence of his recovery, and even being a doctor who knew good and well things took time, that was good for him.

Toby cocked his head. "Did she? Open up to you, I mean."

"A bit." Happy sat down next to him, leaning over and planting a kiss on his lips before continuing - now that he'd brought up the idea of them having sex before going to bed, she was slightly distracted. Not too much though - what she had to say was too important. "I found out why she said she didn't have a sister."

His eyebrows ticked up. "Really?" He asked in a low voice, leaning toward her curiously and wincing slightly as he put more weight on his weak hip.

"Yeah, and Toby..." she shook her head slowly from side to side, a small smile coming over her face. "It's not bad. It's not bad at all."

* * *

"Alright," Walter said, uncapping the marker that Cabe had given him and leaning over the blueprint. "The general manager of this hotel refuses to give us his wifi information because he thinks what we are doing will affect the speed of the connection to the other rooms. I have told him twice that it won't, but he doesn't believe me." He was more than a little annoyed. This was supposed to be an easy job, and while he was glad the complications this time weren't dangerous at all, it would be nice to have an actual easy job for a change. Paige was doing well, Happy and Toby had come in a few hours ago looking like they were walking on air – well, walking and wheeling on air – and Ralph had spent the entire previous night catching up on the latest season of Stranger Things with Paige. Life at the present moment was pretty good. It'd be icing on the cake to have an actual uncomplicated case for once.

"He's concerned because the reputation of this hotel is incredibly fast wifi and he currently holds a five star guest satisfaction rating," Cabe explained. "I too told him that it wouldn't, but he's not listening. He wants us to somehow complete this security upgrade without wifi."

"Which is impossible," Sylvester said.

"Hacking into it shouldn't be that difficult," Walter said, "but there is always a chance that there could be a power surge due to the weather outside. So we'll have to double check in the electrical room that the surge protectors are quality and up to date."

"But we can't just ask the guy where the servers are," Happy said, "or he will know we're planning on doing something to his internet that _could_ affect something in the hotel."

"Exactly," Walter said. "We'll have to find a way to the room that minimizes our time on the security cameras. So here's the basic idea." He began to use the marker to trace the intended path. "We go to the left, then back around here, hop over this, and then we'll..." He trailed off, studying the map.

Toby cocked his head. "Cha cha real smooth?"

Paige nearly dropped her phone when she snorted – she would have if it hadn't been blocked in its path to the ground by her stomach long enough for her to grab hold. Walter slowly raised his head to look at Toby, his face twisting in complete confusion. "Huh?"

"Never mind," Toby said, shaking his head and gesturing toward Paige. " _She_ got it."

"I will begin working on hacking the internet now," Walter said, "while Sly and Happy find the electrical room and Toby distracts the front desk agent from watching the cameras. With my capabilities we should have access to the internet in about forty five seconds and once we do I will let Ralph know so he can..."

"I'm on."

The geniuses – and Cabe – all froze, then slowly turned toward Paige. "You're on?" Sylvester asked. "On as in, you mean, like, the internet?"

She turned her phone around so the screen was facing them. It showed a _you are logged on, if you are not redirected in 10 seconds click here_ screen. A moment later, the screen changed to a generic homepage for the hotel.

Walter blinked. "How..."

"This hotel is called Goldrush Suites. I put 'Goldrush' as the username and 'suites' as the password. That wasn't correct, so I tried it without the capital letters. And ding ding ding, I was in."

Walter and Happy exchanged glances. "Who the hell makes it that easy?" The mechanic asked.

Paige tucked her phone back in her pocket. "Clearly none of you have ever stayed at a Best Western."

"That would have been more complicated if the name of the hotel was Gold Rush Suites," Toby said, "you know, with the second word at all. I wonder if this fella who named it was actually named Goldrush or if he just wanted to come up with something that sounded really California."

"Maybe you can ask him once the case is done with and we aren't _working_ anymore," Cabe said pointedly.

Toby adjusted his hat and wheeled toward the desk.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will have Waige smut so if you're not comfy reading stuff like that consider yourself warned.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another reminder - THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMUT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The hotel manager had given them a room to work out of. "I don't want you in the business center," he had said. "That might alarm some of the guests. Work from here." He glared at them, still ironically annoyed at their presence considering he'd asked them there, and as he remained in the room, Paige remained standing despite the slight feeling of weakness in her legs that was probably due to the radiation. As soon as he was gone and Walter was working, she crossed the room. "What can I do?" Paige asked, heaving herself up on the desk. There was a clattering sound.

"Well," Walter said, "I'd say you could start with picking up that info stand you just knocked over. But you just put so much effort into getting up there I don't want to suggest that."

"Are you calling me fat?" She joked, running her hands over her stomach.

"No," Walter said, his fingers flying quickly over the keyboard, "fat is not an insult anyway."

Paige crossed her ankles, watching him work. This case may be slightly inconvenient, but for once it wasn't dangerous. That relieved her. She was growing less and less thrilled about Team Scorpion taking jobs that could potentially risk their lives. She supposed it was the third trimester pregnancy – she recognized that she was exhibiting nesting behavior, and she preferred to stay close to home, without any sort of threat.

Walter glanced over at her, and she saw him smile before returning to look at the computer. She cocked her head. "What?"

He chuckled. "I'm just thinking of how much you had to do to get up on that desk when you could have just sat on the bed."

"Oh." She smirked. "I guess I'm just used to sitting on desks when we work. And now I feel like I shouldn't get down or else this effort went all to waste."

He looked amused, then shook his head. "You're so cute," he said as he returned to work.

"Oh yeah?" she said playfully. "How cute?"

He walked over to the desk and placed his hands on the sides of her stomach, smiling. "This cute," he said, leaning in and kissing her soundly on the mouth. It was innocent, intending to be all before he returned to work, but she couldn't help the tiny moan that escaped her throat. Walter's kiss shot right through her and even though it had only been four days since they'd slept together, upon the return from Maine, the low ache that had quickly manifested itself between her hips was moments away from becoming unbearable. Walter seemed to take her response to the kiss and form an accurate interpretation, because his hands came up to her face, tipping her head back and lowering his own to kiss her on the throat. Paige moaned again, shifting her hips on the desk. She was in her mid-thirties now, and even when she was turned on, sometimes it took her a while to really get wet. This wasn't one of those times, and knowing they were on a job and couldn't possibly do anything about it, she felt both agitated and uncomfortable. She wiggled her hips against the desk, craving some sort of friction, lightly biting Walter's lower lip when he returned his mouth to hers, and she moaned again, quietly, in the back of her throat. She didn't know what she would do if he stopped touching her, but at the same time, she didn't know that there was anything she _could_ do if he continued the contact. She was glad she was only wearing a skirt and a tank top because her recent tendency to sweat more easily than usual was certainly exacerbating the situation now.

"I know you said you didn't want to waste the effort," Walter mumbled, "but..."

Before she could even process that he'd moved, Walter had tucked an arm under her knees and scooped her into his arms, stepping around the desk and across the room to lay her down on the bed. Her protruding stomach caused her to lose sight of him several seconds before she felt his lips on the inside of her thigh. Tipping her head back, she let out a loud breath as he lipped at her other thigh, sucking on her soft, sensitive skin. Then his lips moved to kiss her over her underwear, and she scooted slightly farther up on the bed, away from him, feeling cold where his mouth had just been. "Walter," she said in a breathy voice, "we're on a job."

His head popped up. "Do you want me to stop?"

His knowing grin almost preceded her frustrated "no" and he vanished from view again. She wiggled as his lips continued to tease her through the fabric, and when she felt his hands tugging, she struggled for traction with her heels so she could lift her hips. She was too close to the end of the bed to get her feet up, and Walter had to tug them out from under her. Then he was nipping at her thighs again, sucking with more vigor, and she whimpered when he finally planted a kiss to her center. He sucked at her lips lightly, his lips parted, tongue simultaneously darting around, and his hands rested on both her hips, thumbs rubbing them gently. It astounded her how he could be so tender and gentle and so intense at the same time.

Her legs closed like a vice around his head when he moved to her clit, rubbing the inside of his lower lip against it and making a tiny sound in the back of his throat. He did that sometimes, moaning quietly while pleasuring her, and she found it an incredible turn on. "Ooooh," she breathed, forcing her hands to remain unclenched as they pressed against the mattress. The rest of the team _would_ be back at some point, and she wanted to minimize the evidence that they'd have to hide.

Walter's tongue firmly traced a path around her clit, and she clapped a hand to her mouth as she realized the sound she had just made probably did not leave much to the imagination of any and all guests of the rooms next to them. Walter, however, seemed unconcerned, and lowered his head to run his mouth over her one more time, tongue teasing around her entrance, before returning higher, locking around her clit and sucking.

His tongue began to flick against her, rapidly, not relenting, she could feel her orgasm rapidly building and she sat up, panting hard, pushing her hips forcefully against his mouth and rocking them, wanting the friction he was creating, wanting more, more, more, glad that she was so close to the edge of the bed because her upright position would have caused her stomach to completely block Walter's access had he not been able to shift his position so easily.

She opened her mouth to tell him she was close, but her muscles were already tightening and her throat betrayed her and forced out a sharp sound. She was still gasping when he came up, licking his lips, his eyes showing how pleased he was. "Shut up," she managed, smiling at him. She wasn't a screamer – she never had been. But _god damn_ if he hadn't just made her act like one.

"I didn't say anything," he said. Her legs were shaking – they were already feeling weak before this – and he took one in his hands, rubbing it gently before standing up and walking around the bed to sit adjacent to her. He slid an arm around her back and leaned over to kiss her gently on the shoulder. "I didn't say one single thing."

She smiled at him, leaning over to capture his mouth with hers. "You're incredible, Love," she said against his lips.

"And efficient?" He had a playful, hopeful look on his face.

She grinned, giggling. "And efficient. Which reminds me..." she reached over and began to smooth the part of the bed that they weren't currently disturbing. "We have to get this all fixed up before the others come back."

Walter rose, grabbing the box of tissues from the bed and handing them to her so she could clean herself up. After a minute she rose, walking on shaky legs to the bathroom to flush the tissues down the toilet and work her underwear back up her legs. She put her hands on the countertop and leaned on them, blowing out a long breath and watching the counter briefly fog up. Then she lifted her head to look in the mirror. She looked fine. A bit sweaty...but that hadn't exactly been an uncommon thing the past few weeks. Straightening up, she splashed water on her face and then smoothed her skirt, ran her fingers through her hair, and grabbed the deodorant supplied by the hotel. When she exited the bathroom she saw Walter finishing smoothing out the comforter, and everything looked relatively as it had before. Paige surveyed the room. Even the internet information stand she'd knocked over upon hoisting herself onto the desk was fixed. "Nice," she said approvingly, offering Walter a high five.

He grinned. "Can I kiss you before we get back to work or are you going to unravel again?"

"I think I'm good," she said, closing her eyes just before his lips brushed hers. She hugged him, tucking her head into his neck and smiling as she felt his arms curl around her.

They both jumped as the door opened. "Oh," Toby said, the door beginning to close and stopping when it hit his chair. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not anymore," Paige whispered so only Walter could hear.

Toby looked confused when they both burst into laughter.


	66. Chapter 66

Paige hung up the phone and sighed. She'd worked through so much closed case paperwork in her years with Team Scorpion that it felt never ending. Even finishing up on a specific case didn't feel like an accomplishment because there was _always_ something else. But the past few weeks, she'd found more enjoyment in settling down at her desk and working through the paperwork.

It was instinctual – her body was preparing to give birth, and with it came a need to stay close to home and get things done.

The baby kicked. She'd been incredibly active over the past few days. Paige knew she was going to miss that once she was no longer pregnant. Ralph had never been as active as this, so although she'd been pregnant before, this was almost like a new experience.

Almost. The completely new experience would be when she spent another thirty hours in the hospital only to have the baby go home with Sylvester. At least the doctor said the baby's measurments were more on the small side - not in an alarming way at all, she was on the small side of the 'normal range' - but Paige hoped that that would make the long, frustrating pushing stage a little easier.

She'd find out in two months.

At least she wouldn't have to deal with the sleepless nights that were commonplace when a newborn was in the house. Cabe was out on a work lunch with Tim, Sylvester, Ray, and Linda were on the roof cleaning up for the next campout that the team had planned for the weekend, and Walter had taken Toby to physical therapy since Happy said she had some important reading to do. The garage was quiet – and although Paige did love the usual chatter and day to day noise that was the team hanging out together and being a family – she was liking the silence. Paige filed the Gentry case and began working on the Goldrush Suites paperwork.

"Hey Dineen?"

 _Dammit Happy I'm almost actually caught up._ Paige looked up and instantly knew that Happy was uncomfortable. "What's up, girl?" She asked.

"You know what? Nevermind."

She saw the mechanic's lip roll under before she turned around and recognized that Happy really did want to talk about something. "Happy, talk to me."

Happy turned and took the steps back to Paige's desk. She was silent for several seconds, then, "I don't like talking about personal things with people," she said. "And usually I'm good at keeping things to myself. But..." her arms were hanging down, hands folded, feet shoulder width apart. "But Toby and I have been talking about it for a few days now and I realized last night that I need to talk to someone about this."

"Oh my gosh," Paige said, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Happy said quickly. "Nothing is wrong. Just Toby and I might be about to make a big change in our lives and it's kinda scary to keep it to ourselves."

Paige's eyes lit up. She wanted to ask if Happy's words meant that they'd started the adoption process. But she knew how badly Happy and Toby wanted to be parents, and maybe that wasn't what the mechanic was talking about." "What's going on?"

"I know who I want to adopt," Happy said.

"Oh my gosh," Paige said again, grinning. "That's amazing. I didn't know you went to meet anyone else."

"I've never _actually_ met this person but..." Happy nodded. "I know some stuff about them."

"Is it the girl on the mountain?" Paige asked. "I mean..." she shifted her weight awkwardly. She wasn't sure just how much she was supposed to know about that.

"This...this person is related to that whole mountain thing," Happy said. "Actually, this person is _literally_ related to that whole mountain thing."

Paige raised her eyebrows. "Tell me."

"June has a sibling," Happy said. "Named Collette. June will be eighteen in a few weeks, and Collette is twelve."

"So you can't adopt June because she'll age out before it happens."

"June doesn't want to be adopted," Happy said. "She's given me a very strong impression to that effect. But Collette could potentially still be in the system for another six years, just waiting for someone to want to adopt them."

"The sister." Paige nodded, understanding. "You want to adopt the sister."

"Well, okay," Happy said. "Collette is not June's sister."

Paige cocked her head. "But..."

"They key word being 'sister'. Collette is June's sibling, yes, completely biological actually. But Collette is not June's sister because Collette is not a girl, or a woman," Happy said. "Or a man either, but instead is a non-binary gender. Do you know what that means, or..."

Paige nodded. "I think so. They don't teach it in schools, or at least they didn't when I was that age. But from what I understand, society has decided that there are only two genders. You're either a man – if you're born with a penis – or you are a woman – if you're born with a vagina and uterus."

"Yeah," Happy said. "But sex and gender is different. People make all these assumptions about you, they assign you a gender based on what sex organs you have. And with that comes expectations. Men have to be loud, strong, good at running and fighting and they have to be territorial, they have to have insatiable sex drives, they have to do all those things deemed masculine. Mothers and daughters – or grown women friends – can share a bed if necessary, but fathers and sons – or grown male friends – it's different. There's a stigma. Or whatever."

"Women are considered oppressed if we choose to cover ourselves up and we're sluts if we show skin," Paige commented.

"Women are encouraged to be 'tomboys' and are conditioned to believe that being told we're 'not like other girls' is a compliment, like what the hell is wrong with other girls?" Happy said angrily. "And also, on the flipside of the tomboy thing, if men are doing anything considered feminine, they're laughed at, the word 'girl' or 'gay' is used as an insult."

"No one has ever told a man to smile more on the street."

Happy nodded. "Oh God, I get that a lot."

"So June's...sibling...doesn't identity as a woman nor a man," Paige said. "What pronouns does Collette use?"

"June says that she uses 'they' and 'them' to refer to Collette," Happy said. "But I was doing some research and some people like other ones. I suppose we'd have to ask them to see if they prefer anything else. But June seems to be incredibly protective of Collette, so _my guess_ is the pronouns she uses are what Collette wants to be used. But it's always better to ask. When we meet with them."

"Do you know when you're going to do that?" Paige asked.

Happy shook her head. "June doesn't know Toby and I want to adopt Collette yet. I don't even think June knows that Toby and I caught a glimpse of her on the mountainside." She shifted her weight. "It's like you said. They don't teach about this stuff. It's not mainstream. When it goes mainstream, people mock it. People still see gender as a binary thing. And I don't fully understand identification outside the gender binary yet. That doesn't mean I don't think it's real, I just mean I have to do research and learn. It wouldn't be fair of us to try to adopt Collette without understanding them. They'll have to teach us about their preferences and stuff, but it's not their job to teach us about their identity itself – though there are many different non – binary identities and I don't know exactly which one they identify as. But in general, I've been reading about it, but I know I don't know everything and I'm not even exactly sure _how much_ I don't know.. You know?" She shrugged. "Like if Collette was listening in on our conversation now, they could think _they understand, they're respectful_ or they could think _this is the most ignorant and problematic conversation to ever exist ever_. And I have no idea which it is. And until I know that, it wouldn't be fair to Collette for me and the doc to try and be in their life. I think I could be a good parent to them, Toby too, but I know neither of us are there yet and we need to do research and _become_ those people before we pursue anything."

Paige bit her lip and nodded. "It's terrible to know that there are people out there who wouldn't want to try."

Happy nodded. "June told me that Collette hasn't faced much mocking or violence or anything like that yet," she said, "but it's because they're largely not open about their identity. June is one of the only ones who knows – and we know that Ray and Bonnie didn't know or Ray wouldn't have repeatedly called Collette 'she' and 'her' when he told us about the siblings. At least, I don't think he would have." Happy shrugged. "So I want to create a safe environment. Where they can be themselves. And...and I think that Scorpion would be a good place for them to finish growing up. We're all good people. And we all understand what it's like to be afraid to show our true colors to society. So..." she shrugged. "I know the doc and I won't be perfect but I think we can be pretty good."

Paige stood up and hugged Happy, angling her stomach off to the side as she'd perfected from hugging Walter. By the tension in her body, Paige figured that Happy had not expected the hug, but she quickly relaxed and returned the embrace. "You guys are going to be such amazing parents," she whispered. "Collette will be lucky to have you. Any kid would."

"I hope so," she heard Happy say. "We have a lot to learn."

"You're geniuses," Paige said, breaking the hug to look at the mechanic. "Learning is your specialty, isn't it?"

Happy laughed. "Well, geniuses aren't so much about learning but about assuming they already know," she joked. "But I think we can figure it out."

Paige pulled her back into a hug again. "I'm sure you will." She rocked the smaller woman back and forth, then pulled back, holding her at arm's length. "So what else do you know about Collette?"

"They love to swim," Happy said. "June said that the two of them used to volunteer at a rec center in exchange for being able to go in during lap swimming without having to pay the $3 every time. And they also like chocolate. Choco-holic, June said."

Happy continued, rattling off all the things that June had told her about her younger sibling. Paige watched and listened. Happy was worried about being respectful of Collette, of being a good parent to them, of connecting and forming a loving relationship.

Paige didn't deny that it might be difficult at times – and they all had a lot to learn. But she didn't doubt Happy and Toby's ability to ultimately succeed.


	67. Chapter 67

"Is your mom and Sylvester excited about the baby coming soon?"

Ralph wrinkled his nose, running his fingers through the pile of Legos that was on the carpet between them. "When you say it like that, it makes it sound like they're a couple."

Owen snorted. "Sorry. But is she excited for the pregnancy to be over? I know you said her back has been bothering her."

"She's excited for it to be over," Ralph said, "but she's also really not looking forward to the baby coming. It took thirty hours with me. And even though once you've had a kid, it normally goes a little faster, she just keeps thinking about that time with me and..." he hesitated. "I don't think she's psyching herself out or anything. She's just really dreading it." He consulted the diagram and placed another Lego. "Shuffling up and down the halls, the examinations, just waiting for things to progress."

"Was your..." Owen cocked his head. "Was Drew there when you were born?"

"Yeah," Ralph said. "He was. He supported her when she walked around, he did the lower back massages, he held her hand." He fixed another Lego to the structure. "I'm sure she was really scared. But this time will be different. She knows what's happening, Walter, Sly, and I will be there. Walter's even learned how to do the fundal massages in case she gets weird about other people touching her post – partum or something – I guess that happened for a few minutes with me but I don't remember. Obviously." He smiled. "Walter and I have already come up with some ways to help distract her in the early stages."

"That's good." Owen smiled. "And you know if you guys need anything, I'm right here, right?"

 _I'm right here._ Ralph looked at him, drawing in a deep breath, feeling as if something was constricting his lungs. He nodded, trying to re – center himself upon the inadvertent reminder of how close Owen was. "I – I know. Thank you."

"Good."

Ralph watched as the older boy affixed more Legos. Haaziq and Sloan thought this hobby of theirs was weird. "Aren't Legos for middle schoolers?" Sloan asked – to a resentful _hey_ from Carla. "You're a genius, and you're close – why are you playing with those?" Haaziq asked. They weren't being malicious, of course. It was the playful teasing that often accompanied a friend group. But even if Haaziq and Sloan didn't judge Ralph and Owen for playing with Legos, they never joined them when that was what they were doing. Afternoons in Owen's living room with Legos wasn't appealing to anyone but Ralph and Owen themselves. And they'd been doing this a lot lately, sometimes as often as twice a week.

Since the night that Ralph had found out about his mother's sickness, he knew he and Owen had grown closer. It wasn't just him feeling closer to the older boy because he'd been vulnerable around him, he knew Owen felt closer to him too. It was in the little things, the way they always sat next to each other when the group got together, and how Owen would drop by the garage even when he wasn't expected with reasons like "I just hadn't seen you in a couple days," or "just wanted to make sure everything's okay."

Sometimes he caught Owen looking at him and his heart went into double time, just for a couple of seconds, before controlled breathing and an exercise of mind over matter eased it back into the regular tempo. He'd tried everything, asked himself everything, trying to find another reason to explain the way being around Owen made him feel – were they too young? No, people dated in middle school and Owen was a junior in high school, Ralph just one year younger. Did he really like him in a different way than the others, or was this how best friends felt about each other? That was the most confusing question, because Owen _was_ his best friend. But Ralph had a pretty good idea that best friends didn't get distracted looking at one another, or feel their heart rates increase when they stood closer. No. This was definitely different than only being best friends. How he felt about Owen was definitely more than friends – not more as in greater, but more as in _in addition to being_.

Ralph knew he'd come to this conclusion before, but whenever he did, he had to face the fears that came along with it. Maybe Owen didn't feel the same way. Maybe one of them would screw up and their friendship would be ruined and then they wouldn't have anything at all anymore. Ralph couldn't imagine going through life without this boy as a part of it.

Sure, it had worked out for Walter and his mom. But maybe they were just the lucky ones. But if Ralph could have even a fraction of what he saw between Walter and Paige...

"Owen?"

Ralph had to stop himself from physically clapping a hand over his mouth.

Owen cocked his head. "What's up?"

 _Crap. Crap crap crap._ Ralph bit his lip. "Nothing. No, something. But..."

Owen sat back, tipping his head the other way. "Ralph?"

_Now or never._

The phrase passed through Ralph's mind and it alarmed him. It wasn't now or never. Owen, for the present moment, wasn't moving away, wasn't dating anyone else, wasn't under any time restraint for Ralph to decide whether or not he wanted to say anything to him. But the phrase – the prospect of _actually_ running out of time – made Ralph's stomach twist uncomfortably and he couldn't imagine his mother and Walter going through this for so long with even more intense feelings than were happening here.

"So uh," he blurted, frowning and clearing his throat, god, had he picked up on his dad's mannerisms, "I, I mean like, stop me if this is weird, okay? Because I get that. That it might be weird. But..." he shifted his weight, turning a Lego over in his hands. He focused on it for several seconds, staring as if a generic red Lego required all the concentration in the world. Then he set it down, looking straight at the older boy. "I like you. Like..." he frowned again, hating the phrase that was about to come out of his mouth but having no idea how else to phrase it. "Like, _like you_ , like you."

Owen set the Lego he was holding onto its place on the structure and pressed it on. "Okay," he said easily, looking back at Ralph. "So do you wanna like...date?"


	68. Chapter 68

"So what should we do today?" Ray asked, marching out of the airstream.

Sylvester and Linda looked over at him in unison. She was perched on his desk, and he held her laptop.

"Or rather..." Ray cocked his head suspiciously. "What are you already doing that you didn't include me?"

"I'm helping her set up auto – bill pay on her new bank accounts," Sylvester said.

Over the past few weeks, Linda had taken over the small repairs on the garage that Ray was infamous for messing up. Any of the team could do them if they remembered to, but this way, she could get on Team Scorpion's payroll while she wasn't able to work otherwise.

"That does not sound interesting to me," Ray said. "So I would like to thank you both for not including me."

Linda smirked.

"There you go," Sylvester said, handing the laptop back.

Linda leaned over and set it on the next desk. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

The door to the garage opened, and the three of them smiled when they saw who it was. "Hey, Ralphie boy," Sylvester said in greeting.

"I told you," Ralph said. "I'm fifteen. I'm not Ralphie boy anymore."

"Well excuse me, Mr. Grownup," Sylvester joked.

"But," Ray said, darting over to stand beside Ralph. "We did take another step toward adulthood a couple days ago, didn't we?"

Ralph's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Well, yeah."

"Wait, what?" Sylvester said, cocking his head.

"This guy..." Ray slung an arm across Ralph's shoulders and paused, giving the boy a chance to shut him up. When Ralph only smiled, Ray held the pause several more seconds for dramatic effect. "...has a boyfriend now."

Linda put her hands over her mouth as Sly clapped his hands together and grinned. "You told Owen."

Ralph smiled, almost shyly, as his face flushed. "I did."

"That's my little guy!" Sylvester said, bouncing across the room and throwing his arms around Owen. Linda slid off the desk and joined the hug, and laughed when Sylvester started jumping up and down. Ray came up behind her, adding to the massive embrace, and they all jumped in celebration.

When they broke apart, Ralph was grinning, but rolling his eyes. "You guys are even more embarrassing than my parents."

"Well, that's not good," Ray said. "The parents are always supposed to be the most embarrassing. I guess we'll have to let them know what you said so they can up their game."

"Oh my God. Stop."

Ray grinned, ruffling Ralph's hair. "What did your parents do?"

"Well, my dad started throwing really purposefully bad dating advice at me."

"This is Walter we're talking about," Sylvester joked, "are we _sure_ he knew it was bad advice?"

"It was bad enough that I think he'd have known it even when we met him," Ralph said with a laugh.

"So," Ray said, stretching the word out much longer than necessary. "What's the first date?"

Ralph blushed again. "I was thinking I'd bring him to the rooftop party we're having tomorrow night." He jumped at the _aaaaaaah_ sound that came from Sylvester. "You sound like Sloan when she sees puppies." Suddenly looking alarmed, Ralph took a step back, gesturing to the three adults. "You guys cannot act like this when he gets here. It's not like you've never met him."

"We won't embarrass you," Ray said. "Though you have to promise to ask him to join in when I play the guitar and sing campfire songs. _You_ may have not been a boy scout, but I _know_ Owen knows those songs."

Ralph rolled his eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Ralph was already gone when Paige rapped at his door the following morning, but it made sense. It was Saturday, Haaziq didn't have a forensics tournament this weekend, and Carla was back from summer camp. It was the first day the group was able to spend all together in nearly a month, and so Paige wasn't surprised when she took her phone off the charger and saw a text from Ralph promising to be at the garage enough in advance of the party to help set up.

It was seven - thirty. Sloan was never awake before nine on the weekends. But Owen was. Paige smiled.

What was surprising to her was that breakfast hadn't been started. Walter had been jumping up earlier than usual on weekends to make French Toast – a current craving of hers that didn't exacerbate her health problems – and although she'd woken up to nothing but an imprint in the mattress beside her that morning, there were no tantalizing smells coming from the kitchen. When she found him on the couch in the living room, arms folded, staring forward at the blank television set, she was instantly distressed. "Walter?"

He didn't respond. His hair was untidy. Paige wanted to smooth it down. She walked around the couch and dropped down next to him. "Did you see Ralph this morning?"

He continued to stare straight forward. She wasn't even sure if he knew she was there, and she felt a niggling fear in her stomach. "Walter, are you okay?"

There was another agonizingly long silence. Paige was wary of touching him. "Walter, it's Paige. Can you hear me? Please tell me what's wrong."

"I just really miss her today," he said, _finally_ speaking, but still not making eye contact.

 _Megan._ Paige angled her knees toward Walter, not touching him. "What happened?" She asked, tipping her head to try and see his face better.

"I don't understand."

She frowned. "You don't understand what, Love?"

She saw his Adam's Apple bob as he swallowed hard, and when he looked at her, his eyes were damp. "Today is _nothing._ "

"I'm sorry," she said after several painful seconds of silence within which she'd tried to understand. "I don't know what you mean."

"It's not her birthday. It's not the day she died. It's not the day she met the team or the day I found out she was seeing Sly. It's not the day she saved me from my teacher or the day we she was diagnosed or the day she came to the States. Nothing significant about her, or our relationship, is today. And yet..." he bit his lip. "When I woke up this morning, I was thinking about how I'll never see that smile again. In real life. And I'll never get to hug her, or feel her head on my shoulder. _Ever_ again."

"That's understandable," Paige said.

"It's not," Walter protested. "It doesn't make sense."

"Grief doesn't make sense," Paige said. "Some people go through the five stages, right in order. Some go back and forth, some experience several steps at the same time, or never experience some of them at all. I still miss my father sometimes." She reached out, offering him her hand, and was relieved when he took it, slowly linking their fingers. "It doesn't have to make sense. Just try and focus on how nice your memories are with her. Focus on all the things you have now. See if that makes you feel better, but don't think it's not okay to still get really sad."

His voice sounded tired. "There's just no explanation."

"Yes there is." Paige leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You love her, and she's not here anymore. That's the only explanation you need."

Walter nodded, staring down at their hands. Then he glanced at Paige – briefly making eye contact – before dropping to look at her stomach. His lower lip rolled under, and his eyes changed slightly.

"You're thinking about us having one together again, aren't you?" She asked.

"Just thinking," Walter said, sounding slightly defensive. "Not saying. Only thinking. Thinking, it's...it's, I do that a lot. It's actually one of my strengths."

Paige smirked and rolled her eyes. "I know that, genius."

"I just keep thinking about Megan. And she's gone. But my little niece or nephew is going to be just as here and just as real as if she was still alive. It just seems...strange...to me that that's a scenario that's more real than the two of us having a child."

She bit her lip. "I just never realized that that was something you wanted. Why didn't you ever bring this up with me?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Walter said, shrugging.

"I thought thinking about things was one of your strengths," she joked, jabbing him playfully in the ribs with her elbow. Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it down. "Do you feel any better?"

He gave a tiny smile. "Talking about things that make me feel bad, to you, always makes me feel better."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Good." She squeezed his hand. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"It's my turn to make it." He looked at the clock, realizing what time it was, and jumped up. "Dammit, I'm sorry."

"No no," she said, placing her hands on the cushions next to her, preparing to stand. "How about we make it together?"

He smiled. "Sounds good to me. I'll get the bread down since I know you can't get close enough to the fridge to reach it."

"Shut up." Paige rolled her eyes. "But for real, before you do that, can you help me get up?"


	69. Chapter 69

One good thing about a third trimester pregnancy that made her feel her heart pulsing in her feet and inspired Google searches for a backboard was Paige didn't have to work up a sweat – well, more of a sweat – carrying things up to the stairs. That fell to Walter, Cabe, Ray, and Happy, who had already brought the food and chairs firewood up to the roof by the time her son and Owen showed up.

Paige almost teared up when the first thing that happened upon the boys' arrival was a big hug from Sylvester. She knew that Ralph had endured some good natured teasing the day before – teasing that, according to Ray, surpassed the big smiles and hair tousles that had accompanied her and Walter finding out that the two had decided to become a couple. "You gotta up your game, Mama," Ray had teased her. But all of them knew that both Ralph and Owen would be too self – conscious if they were badgered in a public, and when there wasn't much hullabaloo surrounding the boy's arrival, Paige swelled with pride. Everyone had grown up a lot the past few years.

She walked over to where Walter was talking with Toby – who had again, somehow managed to get up on the roof – and smiled. "Glad the cooler weather held out."

"Tell me about it," Toby said. "You're sweating enough as it is."

Paige flipped her hair, pretending to be flattered. "Aw, you noticed!" Walter and Sylvester smirked at each other.

"Things seem to be coming together nicely," Toby said, glancing behind him. "Who are we still waiting on? Linda, Happy's dad? I think Linda was still downstairs. Said she was going to braid her hair and then come up."

"Tim should be here soon too," Paige said. "He texted me earlier to make sure of when it started, because when Linda told him when it was, she wasn't entirely certain." Sensing a stiffening next to her, she turned her head. "Walter, I want you to be nice. Cabe had really good news at the doctor the other day. He may not be retiring at the end of the year, and Tim is just coming to this party as a friend – and a former colleague."

Walter grunted.

"You hear that?" Toby asked with a smirk. " _Linda_ told Tim about the party." He began to pretend to strum the guitar he held in his lap, singing quietly but enthusiastically as he looked up at Walter and Sly. " _Oh, it's goin' down...I'm yelling Tindaaaaa_!"

"You're an idiot," Sylvester said.

"Oh, come on, why would you say that?" Toby asked. "Play along, Dodd."

"Hey guys!"

They turned – well, Toby did; Walter and Paige just looked up. Tim was standing in the door, his arm stretched back to hold it open.

"Hello, Mr. Armstrong," Owen called from where he sat on one of the tree stump. Ray lifted the burger flipper in greeting, and Ralph politely waved as the others chorused Owen's hello.

"Good to see you join us," Cabe said. "Want to come help me sharpen these sticks for marshmallows?"

Linda appeared up the stairs, reaching out and taking the door as Tim let it go. "Yeah," he said, "sure thing."

"Aw, look so cute," Toby said. "They came up here together."

"They aren't dating, Toby," Sylvester said. "He just took her out for froyo because you asked. They talk because they're both nice people. They just happened to walk up stairs together. By your logic, I'm dating Katherine Cooper."

"When have you and Katherine Cooper _ever_ gone out for froyo?" Toby challenged.

"My point is..."

"You don't have to be able to see something for it to be there, you know," Toby said. "Now, I'm not saying she and Tim are soulmates. But relationships don't always start out by..." he glanced at Walter and Paige, "by driving someone underneath a plane. Sometimes they start with froyo."

Sylvester shrugged, glancing toward the grill.

* * *

"Can I eat burgers?" Paige asked as she bit into her second. "I don't care tonight. Either way. These are delicious."

"You're living dangerously," Walter joked, leaning against the brick ledge.

"That's me," she said, licking ketchup off a finger. "Seriously though, these are incredible."

"I know," Walter said. "I've had one."

"Eat another," she said. "Eat one for Megan. She'd love these."

"Well if she'd love them, then they're probably too unhealthy for you," Walter said with a chuckle, but he glanced toward the grill. The burgers were delicious, and he wasn't even usually...

Ray was perched on the wall next to the grill, waiting for the next batch of burgers to cook. Just in front of him stood Linda, who was toying with the end of her braid. Seeing them in profile, their smiles were broad enough for Walter to notice. Then Ray laughed at something she said and reached forward, grabbing her hands and guiding her closer, so she stood between his knees. She continued to speak, then looked down at their hands. Ray lifted one to touch her chin and draw it up so she was looking at him, and leaned forward slightly, overbalancing and sliding from the wall to stand on his feet. Their lips touched for only a moment, but even Walter could tell that it wasn't an awkward, accidental first kiss. It was new – but not _that_ new.

"Walter?"

She was looking at him curiously, and he gestured with his head. "Paige, look."

She did, and after only a second or two turned back to him with wide eyes. "What..." she looked back.

Toby was leaning forward in his chair, hands folded, talking to Ralph and Owen around the fire. Cabe, and Tim were, for two men accustomed to military equipment, having a terrible time opening a bag of marshmallows and graham crackers, respectively. Happy and Sly were standing just a few yards from Walter and Paige, also deep in discussion. Happy had her phone out, presumably to find out where her father was.

Most of the roof hadn't noticed what was happening over by the grill. But Walter had a feeling that all of them could be staring at Ray and Linda and they wouldn't notice any of it.

Paige looked back at Walter, and when she spoke, her voice told him she was just as incredulous as he was. "How did we not notice this happening right in front of us?"

Under different circumstances, Walter may have attempted humor by reminding her how long it took the two of them to realize they belonged together. But he couldn't do anything but slowly shake his head.

"Ray and Linda," Paige said. "Linda and Ray."

* * *

"Alright, gather around!" Cabe said. "It's time for marshmallows and music. Scorpion's very own M&Ms!"

"He's acting like such a grandpa tonight," Sylvester said with a smirk. "Must be the extra kid. Or rather, the knowledge that the extra kid could be his future grandson – in – law."

Owen didn't give any indication of hearing Sly's comment, but Ralph shot a warning look in his direction.

"Oh," Tim said, "we should have used M&Ms instead of Hershey chocolate. They taste better anyway."

"Impractical," Happy said. "They'd fall out of the s'more."

Cabe finished passing out the marshmallow roasting sticks and settled down on one of the tree stumps. "Ray, you got the guitar?"

"I do," he said, slinging the strap over his shoulders.

"What are you gonna sing, Mom?" Ralph asked. He was resting his chin on Owen's shoulder.

"I'm sure she will," Ray said. "But actually...I'd like to accompany myself first."

"You're gonna sing?" Happy asked.

"Yeah." He looked down at the guitar, standing silently before a moment before sitting down. "This is...well..." he glanced at Linda, who appeared confused as she turned slightly pink. Ray smiled at her. "I just have something that I need to say."

Paige glanced around. Everyone looked mildly curious – Toby, predictably, appeared completely thrown off. Sylvester was smiling.

Sylvester had known before tonight.

Ray smiled as he began to strum the guitar.

" _Baby, you've had your share of love that went nowhere. It starts out honest, then ends in broken promises. I know what you've been through, but girl I promise you, I'm not gonna do what you think I'm gonna do, no."_

Paige swayed gently from side to side, bumping her shoulder against Walter's, who briefly broke his gaze to smile at her. She saw his smile out of the corner of her eye – she was watching Linda. Still fingering the end of her braid, Linda was smiling as broadly as Paige had seen in months as she watched Ray play and sing.

" _Your last broken heart was your last broken heart, baby. Say "goodbye" to goodbye – I ain't ever gonna change my mind."_


	70. Chapter 70

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain smut, but it's not as explicit as in previous chapters.

Linda threw her braid over her shoulder, feeling it thump against her back. "That was really sweet, what you did tonight."

Ray ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind."

She shifted her weight, laying on her side so she could face him. "I think some of them already had an idea, anyway."

"No _t_. _T_ oby," Ray said, putting emphasis on the Ts. Linda laughed. "I'm glad you liked the song," he said with a smile. "I heard it on that radio over there and would work on learning it whenever you were out on walks with Paige or getting lunch with someone."

"That's why I couldn't find you when Tim and I got back the other day."

"I was up on the roof," Ray confirmed, pointing upward.

Linda smiled. "Today was a really good day, Ray. I'm having those a little more often now."

"Good," Ray said. "I told you if anywhere was good for you, it'd be here."

"Here?" Linda asked, gesturing around to mean the garage. "Or..."

"The general here," Ray said. "But the _this_ here," he gestured between them, "I'm glad this happened too. I know these past months have been hard on you, but...I'm glad I got to know you." He gave a slightly apprehensive smile. "I hope that's okay to say."

"I know I'm a different person than I was before my marriage fell apart," she said.

"Well, I know I didn't know you before," he said, "but I would imagine that you are even more incredible now."

She smiled, biting her lower lip. His words made her feel nice. "I don't know about that," she said, aware of how much blood was rushing to her face and was glad for the less than stellar lighting in the airstream.

Ray grinned, rolling onto his back. Linda didn't like not being able to see his face and scooted closer. "Miss me already, huh?" He asked.

"Don't flatter yourself. I was just about to slide off this glorified hammock you call a bed."

"Comfortable though, isn't it?"

It was. Linda usually didn't like the overly soft mattresses, and she sank into this one like feet sank into sand. But for some reason the word _comfy_ was coming to mind to describe it.

"I've felt this way before, Ray."

"I have too."

She kissed him. This wasn't new – she'd had his lips on hers, secretly, for weeks, since the night of the party celebrating the team's safe return from Texas. She knew these lips, and she knew how they kissed. Ray wasn't a good kisser, not in the way most would describe good kissing, but in every lock of their lips she felt something like reassurance, as if he was using the intimacy to show as well as tell her that he was there. His attempts were successful. She whimpered quietly into his mouth and he put his hand on her ribs.

She'd found it odd, at first, how she always felt kissing Ray - wasn't she supposed to be scared, tentative, doubtful of him? Hadn't she just suffered heartbreak? Wasn't her depression still ever present, a battle she was still fighting? Wasn't she supposed to feel like there was danger here? Wasn't her past supposed to cripple her on matters of the heart?

Maybe it was supposed to, but if so, that wasn't working out.

She placed her hand on his neck, capturing his lower lip between hers and running her tongue over his stubble. Scooting closer, she rested her chest against his, laying at an angle on the bed and kissing him more deeply, nestling against him.

She grabbed one of his hands and slid it to her hip as she began kissing his neck, but wasn't consciously aware of what she was thinking until Ray murmured, "do you want to do this?"

Linda kissed him on the mouth again, and then rose up, lifting her weight slightly off him. "Do you?"

"I'm a guy."

She laughed, falling back onto his chest. " _Ray_."

She heard – and felt – him chuckle. Then his hand came up to run through – well, over – her hair. "I do. Especially with you, Linda."

"Good," she said, smiling down at him. "Because I do too."

He ran his hand down her braid, and she grabbed it from him, tugging the band free and sitting up. She let her hair down slowly, carefully unwinding it. She wasn't going slow because she was nervous; in fact she was again surprised at how her heart was beating in excitement, anticipation, not fear. No, she wasn't nervous. She was enjoying the way he was looking up at her.

With her hair down, Linda lay back on top of him, placing her hands on his neck and kissing him more deeply, wiggling slightly, enjoying the feel of him underneath her. Ray ran his fingers through her hair as his other hand slid down her back. She wondered if his kissing technique had suddenly improved or whether she was just getting too hot and bothered to notice.

She slowly rolled off him and onto her back, and he shifted his weight over her. "You know," he said, smiling, something she hadn't yet seen in his eyes, "I feel like I should have some joke about my name right now, but...but I can't think of one."

"I forgive you," she giggled, and he grinned, lowering himself until he could kiss her again. She struggled with wiggling out of her cardigan, and Ray rose up on his knees to give her room, pulling off his own shirt and cargo pants. Linda's skinny jeans were more of a hassle, but then she was free of them and pulling Ray down and capturing his lips again as his hand ran down and over her hip and his skin against hers felt _good_ but then...

"Ray," she said suddenly, tensing up. He lifted his head and his eyebrows ticked up. "I'm supposed to be on the pill," she said, "but I've been forgetting a lot."

"I uh," he suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. "I actually...can't...have kids...so..."

His eyes made her heart hurt – no doubt he was wondering if that was a deal breaker, no doubt he was worried that not telling her before now was some sort of mistake, even though all they'd been doing was kissing and talking and he wasn't required to spill his entire personal portfolio that early on. But now...

"Ray," she said. "But what about..."

"Shit." He rose into a kneeling position again.

"I mean," Linda said, "I don't have anything. I know I don't have anything. Hank and I were both tested before we got married and there hasn't been anyone since."

"I don't either," he said. "I've been careless a lot in my life but never about this. I _know_ I don't have anything but I also don't..." he looked toward where his wallet sat on the tiny table, " _have anything_. And it's not fair to ask you to believe me."

"No, I do believe you," she said. "But that doesn't mean you have to believe me." She felt disappointment weighing her down.

He ran his fingers over the soft skin between her hip bones, just below her naval. "I would have gotten something today if I'd thought..."

"It's okay." _If you don't do something with that hand, Ray_...Linda wiggled on the tiny mattress, trying not to moan in frustration as his calloused hand ran lazily along her thigh. He was teasing her and she knew it. Settling in more comfortably, she smiled up at him with what she hoped was a combination of shyness and flirtatiousness. "Are we gonna do this or what?" She felt her heart leap at the affectionate smile that came over his face as he lowered himself again, kissing her gently on the lips.

They both moaned quietly as he sank into her. " _God_ , _Linda_ ," he whispered against her lips, his eyes closed, and she placed her hands on the side of his face, lightly touching her bottom lip to his top one.

The pace was slow, gentle. She sighed into his mouth as he kissed her, rocking her hips along with his. She wasn't a frequent moaner, and it seemed he wasn't either. She was relieved. It was late; everyone had gone home from the party an hour ago, but the last thing either of them needed was someone else showing up and overhearing what they were doing. She lay back, breathing through her mouth, and wrapped her legs around him.

Then Ray stopped thrusting, lifting his back and putting his head down to press kisses firmly against her breasts. These weren't the tender kisses he had been giving her mouth. He wasn't exactly being _rough_ , but there was definitely a forceful element to his mouth on her. She recognized it as desire and felt another rush of heat course through her body.

Hank _had_ loved her, once. Maybe he still did. But Hank had _never_ desired her like this.

Ray moved his mouth back up to her lips, resting on his elbows and using his hands to knead her breasts as his hips began to roll again. The slightly different angle made her gasp. " _Just like that_ ," she whispered, feeling pleasant tension beginning to pool in between her hips. " _Oh my God, Ray, Just like that_."

She tightened her legs around him and curled her arms around his neck, her eyes falling closed. Their pace continued to be slow, giving her levels of intimacy that she had no previous memory of. Before getting to know him, Ray wouldn't come off as someone capable of this level of tenderness or passion, but she knew him better than that. He had a lot of room in his big heart for this kind of love.

A song came to mind – _Daddy never gave Mama a diamond ring, but Mama never wanted for anything. What he gave her, it came from the heart, in a bond that was never torn apart._ She rolled her eyes at herself. She was being so dramatic – she and Ray had only been...whatever it was they were...for a few weeks. She'd technically been on more dates with Walter O'Brien than with Ray Spiewack.

And yet...everything about this felt so, so right.

She whimpered. She would do that, sometimes, as she got close. "Ray."

He reached down between them, rubbing her with his thumb, and a tiny sound manifested itself in the back of her throat. " _Ray_ ," she managed again, curling her hands into fists around the sheet beneath her. He put his lips to her throat, hand and hips still moving, faster now, and she was done for, whimpering again and squeezing her eyes shut. He adjusted the angle of her hips, thrust vigorously for another minute, and then grunted and stilled, and they lay together, both drawing deep breaths, her smooth cheek against his stubble.

Ray pulled her onto her side, so they faced each other, and he pressed his nose affectionately into her cheek. She cuddled close. "I still might slide off this bed," she said, giggling.

"It's a good thing you're so tiny," Ray said. "And it's a good thing that I like you riiiiight where you are," he added as he pulled her even closer. "Just like this, Lin."

She wiggled against him. "I like me right where I am, too."

His breath was hot as he whispered into her ear. "Hey."

"Hmmm?" She lifted her head to see him.

He was smirking. "Would our couple name be Lay?"

She blinked, then burst into giggles, burying her head against his chest.


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're doing another time jump here, not too much, just over a couple of weeks where nothing really happens.

"Do you know what day it is, Sly?"

He blew on the chalkboard, sending up a puff of dust, then coughed. "Did I forget to sleep again?"

Linda laughed. "No. I just mean..."

"Did I miss Halloween?"

"No Sly," Linda said. "It's still October 29th."

"Good, good," Sylvester said. "Because my new custom Super Fun Guy..." he trailed off, whirling around. "Oh my God, I'm late."

"Paige and Walter are waiting in the car," Linda affirmed.

"Shit." Sly put the chalk down, easing past Linda and rushing for the door. Then he stopped, turned back to face her, and scratched the back of his head. "I don't say that word."

" _Go_!"

* * *

"I hope you don't take your grand old time when I'm _actually having the baby_ ," Paige said.

"I'm sorry," he said, buckling his seat belt. "I was...math."

Walter grunted.

"What's wrong?" Sylvester asked, suddenly alarmed at how stiff and quiet Walter was in the driver's seat.

Paige craned her neck around. "Cabe has a meeting with Homeland today."

 _Oh._ No one on Team Scorpion wanted Cabe to retire – nor did they know for sure if he would. But if he did – _when_ he did; it was bound to happen eventually – it was going to be the hardest on Walter. Cabe would still be around, but it wouldn't be the same. It would never be the same.

They rode in what was mostly silence all the way to the doctor's office, and upon being sent to the examination room, the nurse seemed to sense that something was off. "Well!" She said cheerfully, "looks like we're here for a routine checkup and oh!" She grinned way too broadly. "We're going to be finding out the baby's birthday today, aren't we?"

"We sure are," Paige said. Her smile, while smaller than the forced one the nurse was sporting – was at least genuine.

"The doctor will be in in just a minute," she said, smiling again as she moved toward the door. "Paige, change and get up on the examination table, please."

"Okay," Paige said in a stern tone as soon as the door closed, "Walter, you gotta at least fake it."

"Sorry," he mumbled, shifting the position of his feet. "I just keep thinking about Cabe."

"You're going to find out today when your niece will be born," Paige said. "Focus on that right now. Later on we can think about that. Can you compartmentalize for Sly, please?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry," he said again. "Really."

Sly leaned over and bumped Walter's shoulder with his own. "Don't be. I don't want Cabe to leave the team either."

Paige stepped behind the curtain to change and Sly looked curiously at Walter. The older man was deep in thought – staring toward the curtain, but probably not really seeing it. "Hey," Sly said. "A big meeting like this this late in the year is likely just talking about plans for next year. If he was retiring, he'd just turn in his papers."

"Or he could be working with them to see how Homeland is going to operate going forward."

"I don't think so. He can't retire. This is too important to him."

"I said no talking about this!" Paige snapped from behind the curtain.

"Yes ma'am," Walter and Sly said in unison.

Walter left the room to find the water fountain, and Sylvester looked down at his phone. He had a couple texts from UPS. It seemed the package from Ireland – gifts from Walter and Megan's parents – had been delivered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the curtain swing. "This gown is gigantic," Paige said. "I must look like I'm swimming in... _oh god_!"

Sly jumped, looking up just as she vanished behind the curtain again. "Paige?"

"It was on backwards. I don't know why I...oh my God."

"I was looking at my phone," he said slowly. "I didn't see anything."

She reappeared, having put the gown on correctly so it opened in the back. "Maybe I shouldn't be doing the paperwork for Scorpion these last few weeks," she joked. "Who knows what else I'm messing up."

The door opened without a knock, telling Sly before he turned that it was Walter and not the doctor. "Oh good," he said, seeing no third person in the room, "I didn't miss anything."

"Just me putting my gown on backwards waltzing out here," Paige said with a little laugh as she hoisted herself onto the table.

Walter shrugged. "Seen 'em."

There was a knock at the door, and then the doctor strode into the room. "Hi guys!" She said cheerfully. "I'm Dr. Lindsay, just in case anyone's forgotten. How are we doing today?"

She sat down at the desk, going through the notes from the previous appointments as Walter, Paige, and Sly chorused a greeting. "Looks like the blood pressure is good...and seems like last time we were here we looked at the baby's position and she's head down. It's always possible that she could move and become breech, but we're looking at a scheduled caesarian because of your platelet damage, so that won't matter all that much."

"Lucky me," Paige said, kicking her legs.

"Go on and lay on your back," Lindsay said, rising and walking to the table. She carefully measured from her ribs down to her pelvis. "She looks like a good size! A good thing about your situation is we know the exact date of conception, so it's easy to know where the baby is, and she's just about where we want her percentile wise. Are you ready to see her?"

Lindsay looked at Sylvester for an answer, but all three of them nodded. "Okay. Gonna put the gel on..." Paige wiggled at the cold, then Lindsay began to move the device over her skin. "Ah, yes," the doctor said with a smile. "There's the bottom, the head. You can see the arms here...and the legs, and we already knew it was a girl." She looked back at Sylvester. "And we've already gone over you and the mother's health history. MS is not hereditary in itself, but having a parent who had it may increase the risk of a child developing it."

"How does that make it not hereditary?" Paige asked.

"There have been studies that there are certain genes that are more present in people with MS. But there's no history of it in either family otherwise. And there's nothing else that jumps out. I think you can look forward to a very healthy baby. You can sit up, Paige."

Lindsay handed her a paper towel to dry off her stomach. "We can schedule the C – section for the last few days of November or the first couple days of December. We don't want to go too early, but if we get too near the due date there's more of a risk of you going into labor. Which if you do, we'll just do it then, but obviously it's better to have it happen in a completely controlled situation especially when there's a concern about bleeding."

"At least I won't have to worry about another thirty hour labor," Paige said. "That was how long it took with my son."

"Yes, not to worry," Lindsay said with a laugh. "This process will be quick in comparison. Recovery time from caesarians are longer than from regular vaginal births, but we will make sure you have all the information that you need in order to have as uncomplicated a time of it as possible." She smiled. "I think that just about does it for today. Be prepared for continued pressure on your bladder as the baby descends, and your breasts may leak more in the days before delivery. Have you had any Braxton's yet?"

"Some," Paige said. "Very infrequent."

"Good. If they get stronger or start to hurt, let us know immediately. Otherwise, I don't think there's anything else we need for today. You can schedule your C – section with Jo."

* * *

When they opened the door to the garage, Paige, Sylvester, and Walter stopped, staring in surprise at the gathering that stood in front of them. Linda, Ray, Happy, Toby – with his walker – Tim and Cabe all looked at them expectantly. Happy spoke first. "Well?"

The grinned at each other. "December second!" Sylvester declared.

"Hey!" All six of them walked toward them, arms out. "Congratulations," Cabe said as he hugged Sly. "Just over thirty days until she's here. You excited?"

"I'm freaking out," Sylvester said. "But I'm so ready for this."

"Oh, Sly," Ray said. "There's a big box for you. It's on your desk."

"Right," Sylvester said. "Sean and Louise sent over some stuff from Walter and Megan's childhood. Toys for the baby, photographs so she'll have pictures of her mom before she was sick." He took out his keys and dragged it along the tape.

"I'm feeling kinda tired," Paige said, easing down in her chair. "Walter, can you hand me those flyers? I want to read up on C – sections."

Sylvester dug through the box. "Aw, look at this doll!"

"Oh my gosh," Walter said, handing Paige the flyers and walking over to Sylvester's desk. "Megan loved that doll when she was little."

"What's this?" Tim asked, pulling a lumpy blanket out of the box. "It feels really heavy."

"It's a weighted blanket," Walter explained. "They have the professionally made ones now, but my mom made this one for Megan when she was having nightmares."

"The Swaddling Effect," Toby said. "It's why they have those storm jackets for dogs and cats. It makes them feel safer."

"Exactly," Walter said. "When Megan was little, they didn't know about things like that. But my mom figured it out."

"You know," Linda said, "I know neither of your parents are bona fide geniuses, but they do say that intelligence is passed down largely from the mother."

"There's some photographs in here too, looks like," Happy said, picking up a stack and splitting it in half, handing some to Toby. "I didn't know Megan knew how to horseback ride."

"She liked this Connemara pony that the neighbor had," Walter said. "That's probably who the pictures are of."

"Hey-ey-ey," Toby said, smirking and holding one of the photos up. "Is this..." He started chuckling. "Look, it's Walter naked!"

"What?" Walter looked up in alarm.

"Paige," Toby said, waving the picture in her direction. "Paige, come look at this!"

She didn't look up from her pamphlet. "Seen 'em."


	72. Chapter 72

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some smut - the last of the fic - at the start of this chapter, so just beware if that's not your thing.

Walter thought about how at one of the doctor's appointments, he and Paige had overheard a couple talking about how making time to have a sex life with two young children at home was 'a balancing act'.

They hadn't told him that third trimester sex was also a balancing act, a literal one, but over the past few weeks, he and Paige had learned what worked. When he walked up behind her as she stood at their bedroom window and kissed her on the back of her neck, his hands on her shoulders, they didn't have to discuss how they were going to do what. They'd already found their way of mastering one another again.

They undressed completely before crawling onto the bed – all but her bra. She was too sensitive now for her breasts to bounce. But she still gasped when he ran his thumbs along the sides. She lay down, him next to her, his hand gently teasing her until she was ready. Then he rolled onto his back and she straddled his hips, and she reached for him because she knew her touch made him tremble, not because it was necessary. He was ready for her. He couldn't fathom her naked body over his and _not_ being ready for her.

She lowered herself onto him, slowly, then reached out, as he knew she would. "Hold my hands," she said. He did – her balance wasn't great, and she wasn't able to lean forward and rest her hands on his chest. Digging his elbows into the mattress for leverage, Walter smiled up at her. "I've got you."

He knew that this far in her pregnancy, they had limited options, and unless his head was between her thighs, she basically had to do all the work. Even then, the doctor had advised her not being on her back, because when the uterus contracts during orgasm, the baby could be cut off from oxygen. There were other, more creative positions for everything, but then it was him complicating things by his need to see her face.

He wished he could get past that – but he'd been trying for more than three years now and if he didn't have that ability to look into her eyes, it _just felt wrong_ to him. The connection that he shared with her was unlike anything he'd ever shared for anyone, indeed she _was_ the only person that he'd ever loved and she had come along later in his life than most, when he'd spent the thirty years that was his life before her genuinely believing that this kind of love didn't exist. Often the sensations their bodies created together _made_ his eyes close, but if he opened them, he had to be _able_ to see her face, see if she was looking at him lovingly, or if she was gasping, or if her face was contorting in pleasure. He loved it all.

Paige began to move her hips in a circular motion, sinking farther onto him, and he closed his eyes, groaning quietly. He knew it was illogical, but he couldn't help thinking that they weren't just made for each other in the emotional sense. From their first kiss, four or five seconds that left them both breathless and unable to stand upright, their physical chemistry had been astonishing. And she felt incredible around him, even when she required his assistance for balance and wasn't able to get into her usual cadence.

"Hold me," she said again, gripping his hands tighter as she began to move up and down. She wasn't going as deep now – she'd told him that it was slightly uncomfortable at this stage – but he could tell by the way her mouth hung open that this worked for her. When she picked up the pace after a few minutes, moaning quietly, he was aware that her hands were sweaty.

Her hands were _very_ sweaty.

"Ease up a moment, Love," he said, and she stopped; their hands untangled and they moved to gripping the other's wrists. It wasn't as romantic, but it was strong, he didn't want her to slip. "There you go," he said, and she began to move again, circling her hips, then up and down, looking down at him with such a wonderful mixture of affection and desire burning in her eyes. _God._ She could probably drive him over the edge with that look alone.

"Oh my God," she whispered, closing her eyes, leaning back slightly.

Walter gripped her wrists tighter. "Are you close?" He grunted.

She nodded, biting her lip and tipping her head back. She thrust hard, ten, twelve more times at their current angle, then stopped, shifting her weight back. He let go of her hands and she leaned back, resting them on the mattress, shifting forward. Walter reached forward, rubbing her clit between his thumb and pointer finger while thrusting up to meet her.

"Walter," she gasped, her mouth open, her eyes rolling back. Walter bit his lip and worked his fingers more furiously. He was close, he was so, so close, and he wanted to bring them over together.

She gasped and arced her back, and Walter's eyes simultaneously rolled back and he groaned, loudly, thrusting one last time. Hers lasted longer than his; by the time she was coherent again he had come down from it and they panted, staring at each other, managing to smile and breathe hard at the same time.

"Ooooh, cramp," Paige said after a moment, wincing and shifting her weight. Walter cringed himself when he _saw_ her leg continue to tighten up. "Oh _ow_ ," she whimpered, pressing her lips together.

Walter sat up as best he could, reaching out for her, and she gripped his arms again, breathing in and then out again, slowly. "Can you shift off?" He asked quietly. She shook her head. "Okay." He steadied her, wishing he had a hand free to brush the tears from her eyes.

After a few minutes, he realized the cramp had subsided and her tears were something else. "Paige," he said in alarm. "Paige honey, what is it?"

She swung her leg over and knelt on the bed, covering her face. He crawled to her, almost frantic. "Talk to me, honey. Tell me what's wrong." He gently removed her hair from around her eyes. "Come on, honey, what can I do?" The term of endearment almost felt weird coming from him. She was her name or she was _Pay_ or she was _Love_ and occasionally she was _honey_ but not three times in a minute – she usually wasn't even _Love_ three times in a minute. But it kept rushing out from between his lips and it felt like the right word to use.

She didn't look at him and her face was still covered by her hands so her voice was muffled when she spoke. "How do I know?"

He didn't know how to respond – but it wasn't because he didn't know what she meant. That he understood completely. She didn't know whether or not this was the kind of cramp everyone got from time to time or if this specific cramp wasn't one that would have ever existed if it hadn't been for Chernobyl.

The doctors had told them sometimes the worst effect of this kind of sickness was the psychological. Walter's _body_ was euphoric and his _mind_ was upset and worried and the feeling combined made him want to throw up. He took one of her hands and closed it between his. "Take your time," he murmured, squeezing it gently.

She looked at him then, the tears glinting in her eyes. She shook her head slowly. "How am I supposed to live like this?"

Her voice cracked several times in the one sentence, and he scooted over, slinging his legs over the edge of the bed. She scooted closer, easing her legs sideways over his and burying her head into his shoulder. "Just breathe," he said, pulling her closer. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm sorry," she said after a period of silence.

"No," Walter said, kissing the top of her head. "Don't do that. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

She sniffled. "We have to go to work."

"No," he said again, tightening his hold on her as she began to move to get up. "Not yet. We can be late. Toby doesn't have therapy today, he and Happy will be there."

* * *

 "Walter and Paige are going to be late," Happy said, hanging up her phone and putting it on her desk. "He didn't say why. But he sounded like something is wrong."

"Well, it's not the baby," Toby said, "because Sylvester's phone hasn't..." he trailed off, and he, Happy, Sly, and Ray turned to the mathematician's desk, waiting. A full minute past without any sound from his phone. "Well, it's not the baby," Toby repeated. "But if Walter called, it's got to be Paige who is the reason that they aren't here yet."

"I hope she's okay..." Sylvester said, looking distressed.

"She's one month away from delivering," Toby said, "her back could hurt, or she could have not slept well, or maybe radiation wise it's not a good leg day for her..." he readjusted his grip on the walker. "Now I didn't go to Chernobyl but _that_ I do know something about."

"Linda and I were going to go out for a walk," Ray said, "do you guys want us to stay? It's not like this isn't the kind of date that could easily be rescheduled..."

"No, don't worry," Happy said, walking over to Toby. "Doc and I can hold down the fort. But if you see Cabe or Tim driving toward here really fast, you might want to get back because we're probably going to have to save the world and we'll need someone at the garage holding down the fort."

Ray smirked, and Toby raised his eyebrows. "Turn around, Ray," he said, pointing.

Linda had just appeared, and when Ray turned around, his eyebrows shot up. She wasn't dressed up, per se, but was wearing a dress, and her hair was up. Everyone who didn't know her would see her and think she was dressed casually, but she had put effort into getting ready. "What?" She asked, glancing around at everyone looking at her. "I wanted to look nice for our date."

"Well, I'd say that was a success," Ray said, walking over and kissing her. "I'd ask if you're ready, but..."

Linda grinned at him, then looked over at Happy, Toby, and Sly. "Wait," she said, "is it okay? Do you guys have..."

"No case," Happy said, making a shooing motion with her hand. "Get out of here."

"You know," Toby said to her, bumping his shoulder against her own, "if we can figure out a way to get Sylvester here out of the garage, you and I can do stuff."

"I am staying," Sylvester said firmly.

"I have three more chapters to read in this book," Happy said. "I want to meet Collette in a few weeks."

"And I already told you," Toby said," I think we could meet them now."

"I know but..." she bit her lip.

"You want to be completely prepared," Toby said. He kissed her cheek. "You know, you're doing this because you're worried you're not going to be a good mom. But you doing this is proof that you will. You're going to be amazing, Hap. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Everyday. Because I know it."

* * *

 "I used to live close to here," Ray said.

"When you were in the car?" Linda asked.

"Yep. It was a good time. Walter and Paige would come to visit sometimes. This was before they were together. And before I got her name right."

"You weren't doing that on purpose?" Linda asked.

Ray shrugged. "They may have thought I was. But my memory wasn't great then. I was in kind of a bad place, you know. A lot of people don't realize that memory failure can be a symptom of anxiety or depression or any other mental illness. It was just easier to play off my memory issues as a comical thing rather than have everyone feel bad for me."

She slid her hand into his. "I can't imagine a version of you that wasn't as happy go lucky as you are."

"I got really good at faking it," he said. "And you know, I had good days. Once I met Walter, there were more of them. But there were days I felt like I was dying inside and I couldn't let it show." He squeezed her hand. "I can't get over how beautiful you look right now."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Ray cocked his head. "And you know I'm not faking it now, right?"

She looked at him a moment, and her façade broke. Her face crumpled and she put her hands over her face, turning away from him. "I am."

She dropped onto a nearby bench, her face feeling hotter in the California sun.

"Lin, what..." He stood over her, shrouding her in his shadow. "What's the matter?"

"I don't even know why I'm crying," she said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm happy, today's a good day, I just..." she covered her face with her hands. "I woke up with this dark feeling hanging over me and I thought if I dressed nice and spent time with you it'd make me feel better but I just can't shake this feeling."

She felt the bench shift slightly as Ray sat down next to her. "You're living with something rough. Don't feel bad for having symptoms."

"I mean, I _know_ that but it's hard to keep..." she shrugged. "It's hard to keep remembering it."

She felt his hand begin to rub her back. "Just take a moment."

She felt as if she might need longer than a moment. She knew that getting a second chance at a relationship wouldn't automatically show her depression the door. But the loss of love was what had triggered it in the first place so...why _didn't_ it work that way? She looked over at Ray and opened her mouth to speak, then closed her mouth and shook her head, at a loss.

Ray kept his eyes on her. "You're important to me, Lin. I'm going to keep being here for you. Because I love you." He pulled her gently toward him, and she slumped in his direction, putting her head on his shoulder. "I know I haven't said that in those words before, but I do. And that won't make you better. I know that. But I do want you to know that if you need a rock...I'll be solid for you. For as long as you need. Or...or as many times as you need."

"Thank you." She closed her eyes, exhausted. "I am sorry I ruined our day, though."

"I don't want you to think you have to apologize to me," Ray said. "You don't feel well."

"You got that right," she said, sighing. "I'm so tired all of a sudden. And my muscles ache and I don't understand that either."

"Let's go back to the garage," Ray said. "You can sleep."

"I don't want to go to the garage," she sighed. "We were supposed to be out all day and going back early just feels like I'm a failure." She bit her lip. Saying that out loud made her want to start crying again.

Ray shifted his weight. "Give me a second." He got up and walked down the pathway, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He walked a ways down the sidewalk, and Linda watched curiously, unable to figure out who he was talking to. When he returned, he was smiling. "I got a hotel room. King bed, huge TV. And there's a little hot tub in the room, so you can just lay in there and relax. No stress. No feeling like a failure. And no going back to the garage early." He cocked his head. "What do you say?"

"Will you be there with me?"

"If you want."

 _Of course I want._ She stood up, melting slowly against him and feeling his arms come around her. "I love you."

* * *

 "Ray and Linda aren't coming back today," Toby announced, limping over to the couch.

Happy looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Is that so?"

"No," Toby said, shaking his head at her tone. "I don't think it's like that. I think she's having a bad day."

"She seemed so happy when they left." Happy shook her head. "I guess people can get really good at faking it. Especially if they think it's _supposed_ to be a good day. Is Sly still upstairs?"

"Yeah." Worry for Paige and the earlier discussion of Happy and Toby's potential for parenthood and led to Sylvester going upstairs to call his in – laws, time difference be damned. No one would ever say Sean deserved a parenting award, but Louise always had tried her best. She and Sylvester had grown a lot closer in the past few months, and Happy hoped that whatever she was saying to him now was encouraging. He looked as if he needed it – and although there was someone in his close circle who had parented in a greater state of aloneness than Sylvester would, her absence from the garage this morning told him that she wasn't the person who could encourage him today.

"How is the book?" Toby asked.

"It's extremely informative," she said. "I know I uh..." she closed the book and looked at him. "I know that I'm worried about being a good parent – potential parent – to Collette. And I know you think I've been obsessive about this, them and June, for months, but..." she shrugged. "Even though I may not act like it right now, I really do feel like we are almost ready. It feels like things are falling into place, _going right_ , for once..." she trailed off, looking around at the garage, at the empty desks. "Well," she said, slumping over and resting her head against her husband's shoulder, "for us, anyway."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe with this update the AO3 word count is now over 100K! Thanks to everyone who has read, kudo'd commented, liked or reblogged on Tumblr, etc so far. You are all awesome. I don't deserve any of you.


	73. Chapter 73

The hot water and jets provided much needed relief for Linda's inexplicable muscle aches. She lay back, resting her head against the back of the tub. Ray curled up on the bed, holding the remote. "Do you want this on or off?"

There wasn't a big TV like this in the garage. "Put it on if you want," she said.

Her chest felt heavy, and she recognized most of it as guilt. She used to feel guilty about asking Hank to come home, when his job was so important and kept him overseas so often. Then she felt guilty for not flying to visit him as much as he would have liked.

Now, her guilt stemmed from spending the past several months living in the garage, rent free. She took time from all of them, whether they took her on walks, or brushed her hair, or brought her food to make sure that she was nourishing herself properly.

She looked over at Ray. She couldn't understand why he wasn't annoyed with her – she had absolutely no reason to be sad today. Even thinking about Hank...Hank didn't hurt anymore. This sadness was duller, generalized, the same feeling she'd had since her marriage fell apart but this time she couldn't track any of it back to a specific source. She didn't know how to fix it. She didn't know how to make this better.

"Lin?"

When Ray's voice came through clearly, Linda realized that he'd said her name a good half dozen times. She turned to look at him, wondering how much time had passed since they'd checked in. "Hmmm?"

"Is this nice?"

She smiled. "It'd be nicer if you joined me."

Ray eased off the bed, tugged off his clothes, then stepped gingerly into the hot tub. Some water spilled over the side onto the tile when he lowered himself next to her. "I've never stayed in a hotel room with one of these in it before. Have you?"

Linda shifted uncomfortably. "Once."

"It's nice," Ray said, not seeming uncomfortable with her answer. He tipped his head to the side. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm glad that we didn't go back to the garage," she admitted. She hadn't been lying when she'd said going back would have felt like failing. "I wouldn't have been able to handle that."

"You don't have to," Ray said with a small, encouraging smile. "We don't have to go back until tomorrow"

The world _tomorrow_ , as innocent as it had been uttered, felt like the weight of the world. "I'm really sorry," she said again, resting her cheek against the rim of the hot tub. "I guess somehow my head has equated the garage itself with me being a failure. That I still live there, I don't..." she closed her eyes painfully. "I'm sorry."

"Please stop apologizing," Ray said.

"I just know I'm...difficult sometimes. And sometimes when I'm being difficult I know I'm doing it but I feel like I don't have any control. To be any different. And I know you say you believe I'm more incredible since Hank broke my heart than I was before, but if I was the person I was before I wouldn't be ruining our dates by crying, I wouldn't be so reliant on individual people for my happiness...I wouldn't need to burden you with all this. And I hate that I'm making life more difficult for you."

Ray let a few moments of silence linger in the air when she stopped talking. "Linda..."

 _See?_ Linda thought. _You don't know what to say. Because I'm right. I'm difficult. You're burdened. You just don't want to say it because you know it'll make me feel a million times worse._ She bit her lip, tears springing back into her eyes. She wiped at her eyes with a hand, only making it worse because her hand had just been underwater. Frustrated, she violently jerked her head from looking at Ray to staring straight up at the ceiling, her abs clenching in an attempt to stop herself from bursting into tears.

"Linda." Her hands were back under the water, resting in her lap, and she felt one of his hands locate the one nearest to him and squeeze it gently. "I don't care about any of that. I know you don't like this Linda, but I fell in love with this Linda. You don't give yourself enough credit. I can't claim to want to be there for you and then redact and say my support comes only when I feel like it. Because I want you to feel better and I believe you _will_ feel better one day. Losing part of your support system would only hurt your recovery. I know that, because I pushed some people away who would have supported me unconditionally. Being alone can be terrifying and overwhelming and like hell I am ever going to make you feel that way. I ain't ever gonna change my mind, remember?"

Linda smiled, hoping the smile didn't look too tired.

"Look," Ray said. "I'm going to say something." He sat up. "I'm not going to ask you to stop apologizing. No more. I'm only going to say that you don't have to apologize. If you feel something, whenever, wherever, I want you to tell me. Ramble. Vent. Repeat yourself. I want you to feel safe sharing anything. That's not you doing something wrong. If you don't feel comfortable sharing with me, then I'm the one that's messing up. Because isn't that me loving you only when I can?"

"You shouldn't have to put out all the effort."

"And I'm sure there will be times when I'll need you," Ray said. "You just happen to need me right now."

"But what if you need me and I'm not able to be there for you? In the way that you'd need me to be?"

"Are you scared?"

The question was seemingly out of nowhere, but Linda blinked, staring at Ray. She remembered wondering, just the other week, why her relationship with him _wasn't_ scaring her. But maybe it was just the absence of a familiar fear. She knew that Ray wasn't going to require her to carry all the responsibility for the relationship on her shoulders. And she knew that relationships were supposed to be give and take, with him supporting her when needed and vice versa.

"I'm a little scared that maybe I don't deserve you," she admitted. "But mostly..." she swallowed hard, blinking to push back the tears. "I'm just so used to pulling all the weight in a relationship that when there's effort put out by another person I feel like they're doing it because I'm inadequate. I'm so used to being required to do everything that I think I've convinced myself that that's the expectation, that doing it all is my role in a relationship and..." Sighing loudly, she tipped her head back. "It's so messed up. _I'm_ so messed up."

"I know. I know it'll take a while for you to get that out of your head. I'm willing to wait for it, Lin. But the reason that I asked if you were scared," Ray asked. "Is because I am. But it's the good scary, Lin. I look at you and it's like... _wow, she's with me_."

Linda felt her skin flush. There was nothing about Ray to suggest he was acting, or exacerbating how he felt with his words. There was nothing about Ray that wasn't entirely genuine.

She smiled – her first easy, genuine smile of the day. "I feel the exact same way about you."

"See?" Ray squeezed her hand again, returning her smile. "We're going to be fine."


	74. Chapter 74

Walter was so focused on getting his coding job done and going back home that he didn't realize that Cabe had entered the garage until he was standing in front of the desk asking, "Paige still at home?"

"Uh, yeah," Walter said, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "I'm only going to be here for a few hours. But I had a few things that I needed to take care of here and..."

"Is she alright?"

Walter stopped typing, looking up at Cabe. "She, uh..." He frowned, completely unsure of what he should say. He and Paige hadn't talked about what she did and didn't want members of the team to know. But Cabe had always been more than just another member of the team. To both of them. "She's having a little bit of a hard time with the fact that a lot of the symptoms of her radiation problems are things that people get all the time anyway, like a tingling in a foot or...or a leg cramp."

"It's hard for her to tell what's normal and what isn't."

Walter exhaled sharply. "Yeah."

"Mmmm." Cabe folded his arms and nodded slowly. "I suppose you'll both be glad when the pregnancy is over and you can try to return to some sense of normalcy. At least then you can eliminate the pregnancy symptoms."

Walter was silent for a long moment. "Truth is," he admitted, "A part of me wants her to stay pregnant forever, even though, of course, that's not possible."

Cabe cocked his head. "Why's that?"

"Well, for...in order for her to not be pregnant anymore, she has to have the baby."

"...yeah...?"

"I'm worried about her bleeding," Walter confessed. "I...I know it's going to be a controlled environment and they're doing that purposefully but..." he hadn't realized he'd grabbed a pen until he trailed off and heard a rapid tapping sound. He set the pen down. "Cabe, I'm so worried about her."

"She'll be fine," Cabe said, with the kind of confidence that always made Walter believe it. "That's a good hospital. You know that. And the doctors are among the best in the country."

"Yeah."

"She's gotta have the baby, Walter. That's the only option."

"I am aware," Walter said, speaking slowly, his own arms now crossed. "I am a fairly intelligent person."

"I'm not trying to belittle your genius by speaking the obvious," Cabe said. "I'm only saying that you're going to have to spend the next few weeks preparing yourself for that. She's due a month from today. That gives you three weeks before the C – section."

"Hopefully there won't be a case that will call us out of the country," Walter said. "The team wouldn't be at its best with only three."

"You wouldn't go."

Walter was glad he could tell by Cabe's tone that it wasn't a question. He decided to answer it anyway. "No," he said, "I wouldn't."

Since meeting her, he'd broken his greater good rule too many times to stop now.

"I know it's easier said than done, kid," Cabe said, "but try not to worry. They're gonna take really good care of her over there."

"I know." Walter folded his hands and rested his elbows on the table. "I just keep thinking I can do more to prepare. I've already read all the books, watched the documentaries, Toby taught me how to do fundal massages, I just..." he trailed off.

"I know you," Cabe said. "Anything that can be done on your part, I'm sure you've already mastered. That's how you are. Especially when it comes to people you love."

"I feel like I haven't done enough."

"That's also normal when it comes to people you love." Cabe glanced toward the airstream. "You know Ray and Linda went for a walk today and didn't come back."

Walter had been staring off into space, but his eyes snapped back to Cabe. "What?"

"Relax. They're fine. Ray took her somewhere for the night. He worries about her too. Happy still worries sick over Toby, and he's improving by..." Cabe cracked a smile. "Well, not leaps and bounds, but by decently sized steps."

Walter smiled in spite of himself.

"You know, I keep thinking back to that rough patch you two went through," Cabe said. "We all went through it, to an extent. We didn't know how to live without the threat of death hanging over us. And now, it seems we prefer that calmer life. We're all getting older."

He smiled as he walked away, not seeing Walter's sudden frown.

* * *

"So you have heard nothing new from the state?"

"No, but..." June's voice wasn't coming through clearly. "Hang on." Happy and Toby waited, holding the phone between them. A door closed, and the background noises muffled. "No one else is interested in Collette. They've been in there for months with nothing. It's cheaper to adopt from out of the country, and everyone wants babies. Collette's nearly a teenager. The state would just let them age out of the system."

There was more than just a touch of anger in June's voice. Happy understood.

"Are you going to meet them soon?" June asked. "I haven't said anything. We talk every couple of days. But I haven't told them because I don't want to get their hopes up. There's been...hopes before. About a lot of things."

"We understand," Happy said. _We really, really understand._ "We're still trying to make sure we're prepared. The other kids we had looked at were a bit younger, and admittedly – myself especially – we don't have a lot of experience really _being_ that age, much less raising someone who is."

"Collette just wants someone to understand them and love them," June said. "And I know that I don't know you guys really all that well, but I want that for them and..."

Happy knew where she was going. _And honestly I'm just glad that anyone is actually showing this interest in them._ June didn't think she and Toby were special. But they had good intentions and they genuinely were expressing an interest in her younger sibling and that was enough for her.

What June actually said out loud was "I hope you can meet them by the end of the month."

"We do too," Toby said.

They said their goodbyes, and Toby hung up his phone. He and Happy looked at each other. "We could have a kid soon, Hap."

"We could have _this_ kid." She smiled, leaning over to kiss him, and he placed his hands on the sides of her face. When the kiss ended, they rested their foreheads together. "I feel a little guilty that everything is falling into place for us when everyone else is struggling."

"We can worry about them, care about them, all that, while still being happy for ourselves," Toby said, pushing his nose into her cheek. "And they'll be fine. Linda has a support system, and Sly's going to get to take his daughter home in a few weeks."

"I'm just so worried about Paige." Happy pulled back, biting her lip and glancing toward the picture of her mother.

"Walter is too." Toby didn't want to say that he'd overheard a conversation from earlier in the day, but it was no secret that Paige's damaged platelets concerned Walter greatly. "Just remember, medicine has come so far since when you were born."

"My mother didn't have a clotting problem."

"You know if they were really, really concerned, they would have suggested that she terminate the pregnancy," Toby said. "They're pretty confident that they can deliver the baby safely, and those doctors are among the best that the country has. If this was a mechanical job and you were in charge of it, you'd want the people you worked for to have faith in you, right?" She nodded. "Trust these doctors. They'll take care of her."


	75. Chapter 75

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally have organized my outline enough to be able to say this for sure – there will be 84 chapters of this fic in total. I am going to try and post a new chapter almost every day until it is finished, and the fic will for sure be complete by the time the show returns on October 3rd. I hope you enjoy these last ten chapters!

One of the many things that Ralph liked about Owen was how he also liked to plan things out. It was November fifteenth, halfway through the month, and they were sitting on the floor in his parents' living room, leaning against the couch with their legs stretched under the coffee table, working on planning out their dates for the next fifteen days. This year at school, Owen had become a library assistant sixth period, which meant he basically had a free hour to do homework. That freed up his evenings, and most of his weekends, to hang out with either the group as a whole or just with Ralph.

Ralph wanted to take advantage of that, because when he turned sixteen he was going to officially have more duties with Team Scorpion, which would take away a lot of his free time.

"Do you want to go to the observatory on the twenty ninth?" Owen asked. "Mercury was in transit the other day, I'm sure they'll have some cool information on that and I'm actually off from school on that day."

"I don't want to do anything within a week of my mom's c – section," Ralph said firmly. "Because if she happens to go into labor early, they'll take her to the hospital and do the procedure right then and there, and I need to be there with her."

"December second, right?" Owen said. Ralph nodded. "Okay, so from November...twenty fifth on, if we hang out, it'll be at my place or yours." He thought a moment. "So science museum on the twenty first, we already have that down, so how about observatory on the twenty third, and then that class on the twenty fourth. Then we hunker down and wait for your mom to have the baby."

"That sounds good to me," Ralph said with a smile.

"Of course." Owen shifted his weight, leaning over and resting his head on Ralph's shoulder. "Do you want to have kids?"

"Owen, we just started dating and I can't even drive."

Owen laughed. "You know what I mean. Like, in general. We know that Haaziq and Sloan both want kids – and they don't like us suggesting they have them together – and we know that Atticus doesn't want them and Carla still thinks boys and girls have cooties so she doesn't want anything to do with them. Olivia...I'm not sure she's ever talked about it."

"Olivia does. I think I might," Ralph said, "want them. Eventually. I haven't thought about it as much as Sloan has..." he trailed off and gave a little laugh."

"You know Sloan already has _names_ for her kids picked out," Owen said. "At fifteen years old, she's got them all set."

"It wouldn't surprise me if Haaziq does too," Ralph said. "He really likes the name Hassan and Michael. So as long as he has boys he seems to be set." He lifted his head and looked at his boyfriend. "What would we name them?"

" _We_?" Owen put up his hands in mock alarm. "Ralph, we just started dating. And you can't even drive!"

* * *

 

It had been years since Walter had felt awkward alone with Cabe.

Today, he wasn't even sure if Cabe was aware that Walter felt awkward, but the younger man wasn't sure how to behave. He'd still heard nothing about if Cabe had imminent plans to retire, and the not knowing – especially when Cabe certainly knew of his own decision – was driving Walter's anxiety levels up. He had rarely struggled with anxiety in the past unless it was during a case, but this...this situation was different. This one could wildly change all of their lives and he knew he would feel it as a loss, even though Cabe would still be in their lives. He wasn't sure how to deal with that.

Standing up, Walter walked across the room to where Cabe was standing in front of their television, watching a news report. "Hey, uh, Cabe?"

"Hmm?"

"I uh..." he shoved his hands in his pockets, "I wanted to thank you for...uh..." he cleared his throat. "For talking to me last week. You know, about, uh, about Paige." He bit his lip. "I talked to her doctors again and did some more reading and I really feel a lot better about the procedure. I may have been overreacting a bit and I know that's normal when it comes to people that you love, but you..." he nodded his head. "You helped me see the situation a little more realistically, without...without the goggles, if you will. And I really appreciate that."

Cabe had turned to look at him as he spoke, and he gave Walter a fond smile. "Of course kid. That's what fathers do, right?"

Walter looked down at the floor. "Uh..."

"Something else bothering you?"

Cabe's voice had taken on a concerned tone, and when Walter looked back up at him, he saw that same concern reflected on the older man's face. "Can I be honest with you? Even if it sounds a little selfish?"

"Of course."

"I don't mean to dump in, but..."

"Walter. You know the relationship between you and I. Parents know that we're going to get dumped in on once in a while. What's bugging you?"

 _Just say it._ "I just don't know if I'm ready for you to retire. Mentally. Emotionally." Walter scratched at the back of his neck. "I know you'll still be around, but..." he shook his head. "Us working together, it's...it's been the foundation of our relationship." Walter knew that he'd still have his relationship with Cabe once he wasn't working. But... "I, uh...I really enjoy that. When you and I work together. When you're here, as a part of Team Scorpion."

"Walter," Cabe said, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not retiring."

Walter blinked in surprise. "You're not?"

"Not yet, anyway." Cabe shrugged. "I'm not ready." He spoke matter – of – factly. "I did briefly consider it. I am getting old. But the more I thought about it, the more I was already regretting what I hadn't yet done. This job makes me feel young. Or younger than I _am_ anyway," he said when he saw the small smirk come over Walter's face. "I'm not getting any younger and fewer things really get my adrenaline pumping. And this job?"

Walter smiled. "Never fails."

"Never fails!" Cabe smiled. "I'd like to think that I'll know when it's really time to be done and I'll retire gracefully and enjoy having nothing to do. But truth is, I think what's actually going to happen is one day I'll just fall over on the job and they'll bury me where I lay. And I hope that happens, you know? I hope I go on or following a job because that means I must have felt pretty damn good that morning when I woke up."

Walter liked Cabe talking about his eventual death even less than he liked him talking about his potential retirement, but he focused. Focused on the greatest three words he could hear, right now, from his father figure. _I'm not retiring._

"Well," Walter said, "I'm glad that you, uh, that you'll still be around."

"Hey." Cabe stepped closer to Walter, putting both hands on his upper arms. "I'll always be around for you. You know that, right?"

Walter nodded, and Cabe smiled, moving in for a hug. "Come 'ere." They hugged, and Cabe patted Walter's back. "I love you, kid."

Walter didn't respond verbally because the immense relief rushing through him wouldn't allow it. So he hugged Cabe tighter, knowing his reciprocation was understood.


	76. Chapter 76

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE thanks to the wonderful Amber (amtrak12) for beta-ing this chapter for me to make sure I didn't accidentally type incorrect pronouns.

 

"So," Ray said with a smile, "today's the big day, huh?"

"Yep," Paige said. "They're both really nervous though, so go talk to them but just be encouraging, okay?"

"Of course," he said. "You did mean moti-ray-tional, though, right?"

Linda rolled her eyes. "Oh my God."

Paige noticed that she couldn't help but smirk – something that Ray took notice of and returned. "So, are you guys excited about today? This festival you're going to sounds incredible."

"It should be a lot of fun," Linda said. "And I'll actually get to enjoy it fully because I'm feeling really good today."

"That's wonderful." Paige stepped forward and gave the other woman a hug. "Are you staying down there tonight, or will you be back?"

"Back," Linda said. "We want to hear all about how the meeting with Collette went, and..." she glanced across the garage, where Walter and Sylvester were talking, "we do want to be back for the memorial at the beach tonight."

Paige nodded. "I know they – all of us – will really appreciate you guys being there."

"You know, though," Ray said in a quiet voice, "if this meeting with Collette goes well for Happy and Toby, that will be a good memory to have of this day."

"It will be nice to have one," Paige said with a nod. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pee for the fifth time since I got up." She rolled her eyes. "Just about two more weeks!"

"That's so exciting too," Linda said. "Things are looking up." She bent, talking straight to Paige's stomach. "We're all gonna go to one of your mom's favorite places tonight and those that knew her are going to talk about how awesome she was."

Paige smiled when Linda straightened up. "Happy and Toby are about to leave, so go and wish them luck!" She gave a small wave and waddled off toward the bathroom.

Ray and Linda found Happy and Toby standing near her desk, staring at each other, taking deep breaths and nodding. Linda reached out to put an arm in front of Ray to stop him from moving forward, only to bump his arm as he reached out to do the same to her. They smiled at each other briefly before waiting for either Happy or Toby to notice they were there.

It was the behaviorist that noticed first. "Hey guys. Headed out on your big date?"

"Everyone has a date today," Happy said. "Ralph and Owen went to the Griffith Observatory, they just left a half hour ago or so, you two are headed down to..."

"Hey, we have a date too," Toby said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "A date to potentially meet our child."

"Don't be nervous," Ray said. "I know Collette. You guys are going to hit it off."

"Anything is possible," Happy said. "Including a negative outcome."

"Weren't you the one lecturing Walter a few years back on not being afraid of something due to previous repetitive outcomes?" Linda asked. "I know he's told me that story. Just because your previous matches didn't go through doesn't mean this one won't."

"And," Ray said, holding up a finger, "I have had a pretty good track record with realizing who belongs together, don't I? I knew about Walter and Paige, I _married_ Sylvester and Megan, _and_ I married you guys, and I know that you two and Collette could be really good for each other." He glanced back across the garage. Paige was no longer in sight, but Walter and Sylvester were still in view as they spoke quietly. "I'm sure I'll end up marrying Walter and Paige too because really it's just tradition at this point but I'm aware that that's getting off topic. Look," he said in a quieter, more serious tone, "you guys are meant to be parents. Collette really needs a family, and your preparatory actions these past weeks have shown that you are exactly the type of people who can make up that family." He glanced at Linda. "We have to leave now or we'll miss the beginning, but we'll be back tonight for the memorial to Megan and I, for one, can't wait to hear all about how your meeting went. You guys will do great."

* * *

 

"Are you ready?"

Collette's case worker stood next to Happy and Toby as they waited outside the door. The first meeting with Collette was to take place inside a conference room, and if it went well, they could arrange several more visits – inside or outside the facility – over the next couple of weeks. If all of that went well, then they could take Collette home.

Happy glanced at Toby, who spoke. "I think we are."

She nodded. "Yep."

"Alright." The worker nodded. "Go on in."

When the door swung open, Happy and Toby got their first full view of Collette. They'd already seen pictures when they'd read the file – and June had shown them some too – but Happy hadn't realized just how long, thick, and shiny the twelve year old's hair was. It had a natural wave to it and was a rich dark brown. Happy wondered if Collette enjoyed doing things with their hair, or having other people do things to it. If so, they'd get along famously with Paige and Linda.

"Hi there," Happy said, irritated at the businesslike tone that came out of her mouth. _I might as well have a can – I – speak – to – the – manager haircut._

Collette gave a polite smile. "Hi."

"Uh," Happy cleared her throat, gesturing to Toby. "I'm, I'm Happy. Yeah," she said with a nervous chuckle. "That's actually my name. And this is, this is my husband Toby."

Another smile – or perhaps just a continuation of the first one. "I'm Collette."

"May we sit down?" Toby asked. Happy caught a hint of nervousness coming through in his tone. She was glad. He was an expert at reading people, at tailoring a conversation to make him more comfortable. If he was nervous over this, it was obvious just how important it was to him – and it made her feel a lot less guilty for her own nerves. _It's only the first meeting. We're just getting a feel for each other._

Collette nodded, and Happy eased into one of the chairs on the other side of the conference table, Toby sinking down beside her. "So," Happy started out, "your file says that you use..."

The moment of silence that followed her trailing off felt, to Happy, like years. She wracked her brain for the term to use, completely unable to come up with it. She knew that was something that just happened on occasion – the other week, Ray had needed to be fed the word _door._ But forgetting this term seemed, to Happy, like the end of the world. _You're coming off as if you don't think it matters. Oh God, they're gonna think you'll brush what they want off..._

"Gender neutral pronouns?" Collette offered, their eyebrows ticking up a fraction.

"Yes," Happy said.

"Yes," Collette said. "They and them. Please."

Happy nodded. "Sure."

Toby was nodding too. "Look, Collette," he said. "My wife and I, we haven't done this before. Adoption, I mean. So we're not really sure how to, uh..." he drummed his hands on the desk. "We don't really know what we should say, and ultimately we want to get to know you, but do you have any questions for us first?"

"Well, to tell you the truth," Collette said, "you guys are the first to be matched to me. I mean, that actually wanted to meet with me. The first family, they found out my family's history and...well..." they trailed off. "They wanted someone who they felt wasn't as high of a risk to be trouble."

"Well thankfully, we're a lot of trouble ourselves, so..." Toby joked, glancing at Happy. She glared at him.

Collette didn't look like they knew what to make of his comment. "I don't get into trouble," they said. "I mean, I don't have a lot of friends and I generally prefer to be alone, but that doesn't mean that I'm secretly planning a massacre or something."

"Secretly planning a massacre?" Toby asked, cocking his head.

"You know. Like on the news. All that 'he was a lone wolf' stuff. I just enjoy being by myself."

"I feel that," Happy said. "I enjoy alone time. Our house is, it's pretty quiet, and the room that you would be in, if this worked out, it's at the end of the hall. Away from our room and the bathroom. One side is a hall closet and the other side just has a big wardrobe in the corner. So you'd have...space."

"Do you have a yard?"

"A small one," Toby said, "mostly in the back, behind the house. It's fenced in. Do you like dogs? We could get a dog. Hap, what do you think about getting a dog?"

She gave him a warning kick. "We could get a pet," she agreed, glaring at him as Collette looked down at the table. "So Collette, not to get back to this, but your name...do you..."

"Collette," they said. "I like that name. It suits me, I think. You can keep calling me that."

"Okay. Now, your..." she trailed off. Collette didn't know that they knew about their sister, much less had been in contact with her. "We hear that you like to swim. Did you ever do it competitively?"

"I wanted to," they said, "but with everything going on at home, I felt too guilty to commit to a team. There's a lot of practice, you know. A lot of hours. More than something like volleyball. It's like being involved in the school band but you can't work your practice hours around the home life because it's not independent. June – that's my sister – she did it for a few years. She really liked it. But she had to stop. That was when I was just seven."

"How much older is she than you?" Happy asked, hoping her facial expression didn't give away that she was inquiring something she already knew the answer to.

"Just over six years. She'll be eighteen in a few days. She's not in a position to adopt me herself, though I would like to be able to see her..." Collette trailed off, a frown on their face. "Would that be something you two would be okay with?"

"Well, see, the thing here is," Toby said, leaning forward slightly, "Happy and I, we had some rough childhoods ourselves. And we know that sometimes you lose family, sometimes you have to let family go, and sometimes family is good enough for you that you'll fight to the death to keep it. If your sister June is important to you, we want you to be able to keep her in your life."

Collette smiled.

"Oh!" Happy said suddenly, reaching into the bag she brought with her. "Your..." she cleared her throat, "your _file_ said that you really like chocolate. And we saw on the paperwork you filled out that you'd drawn a sun in the corner so here..." she handed her the wrapped candy. "A chocolate sun. From this custom candy store that's just about two miles from where we live."

Collette already seemed relatively relaxed, but they perked up at the sight of the chocolate. "Oh," they said, a hint of color coming to their cheeks, "this is so nice. I do love chocolate. Choco – holic, my sister says."

"What else do you like to do?" Toby asked.

"Well," they cocked their head as if deep in thought, "I do like to read. Children's books. Not like, not like Dr. Seuss, but like the books you read when you're a little kid? They're simple. You can have fun with them. The Boxcar Children. Goosebumps. I read at a higher grade level than I'm in. I'm going into seventh, but they say I'm reading at about a tenth grade level right now. So I do understand books like...oh, I don't know..." they trailed off, shrugging. "The Great Gatsby. Or plays like Macbeth, or The Glass Menagerie. But it's fun to just curl up with _It Came From Beneath The Sink_ sometimes, you know?"

"The grool," Toby said with a nod. "What? It's Goosebumps. It's a classic!" He protested when Happy continued to look at him with her eyebrows nearly in her hairline. He turned back to Collette, shaking his head. "This one." He continued to shake his head, and Happy was pleased when the smirk that came over Collette's face was so similar to Toby's. _If I didn't know better, I'd think they'd gotten it from him._

"I read things too," Happy grumbled.

Collette folded their hands on the table and gave her a _very_ serious nod. "I'm sure you did."

"Ohh..." Toby said, grinning at Happy. "I see I already have someone on my side."

"Well, I can probably get Walter to back me, so..."

"Is Walter your son?" Collette asked.

"Well, he does act like quite the child sometimes," Toby said.

"Walter is our boss," Happy explained as a confused look came over Collette's face. "We both work at the same place, it's a team of geniuses that work with issues throughout the world that no one else can really solve because they don't have the...uh..."

"They're not as smart as you."

"Yes, but no," Happy said quickly. _The last thing we need is them thinking we're intellectual elitists._ "We just think about things in a different way. And with these specific things that we deal with, the way we think is the best way to go about taking care of the problem. We've gone all over the world, Bosnia, Antarctica, Ukraine..."

"Wow," Collette's eyes lit up. "Antarctica! That must have been a blast."

"It was," Toby said, "an arctic blast."

"What did you do there?"

"We almost died..." Happy said, wanting to clap her hand over her mouth as soon as she spoke. _Way to go, Quinn – Curtis._

Toby glanced at her, finishing her sentence with a loud " _...of fun_!"

Collette raised their eyebrows and blinked. "I'm sorry, come again?"

"It was certainly an interesting mission," Happy said.

All three of them jumped as Toby's phone rang. "It's Cabe," he said. "He wouldn't call unless it was important..." he looked between Happy and Collette. "Uh..."

"Go," Happy said, waving toward the door. "We'll be here when you get back."

"Is Cabe your son?" Collette asked when Toby was gone.

"No," Happy said. "We actually don't have any kids right now. We have some in our lives though. Our friend Paige – she's our coworker too, and Walter's fiancé, she has a fifteen year old son named Ralph. His boyfriend is sixteen, and there's some other kids between the ages of fourteen and fifteen that they hang out with. They're all really great kids. I know you're a bit younger than them, but I'm sure they'd welcome you with open arms if you wanted to get in on their hangouts."

"Well, like I said," Collette said, "I do like being alone. But it would be nice to have some friends that I knew didn't have the possibility of being whisked away at any point, you know? That's always kinda hard, especially when their new parents don't want them interacting with us anymore. In foster care, the other kids..." they trailed off, shrugging, "they're the only ones we have, you know?"

"You keep saying that," Happy said, "but the thing is, I actually do know."

* * *

 Toby hung up the phone, almost missing when he put it back in his pocket. A shooting so close to his home and work rattled him – even if no one had been seriously hurt. _The world has gone crazy,_ he thought, shaking his head.  Thankfully, Cabe and Tim were the only ones needed to handle it, so he and Happy didn't have to leave their meeting early.

He walked back to the conference room, placing a hand on the handle and peering through the tiny window in the door.

Happy and Collette were both leaning over the table, as if they were deeply engaged in conversation. Collette's hands were on the surface, palms down and pressed against it, and as Toby watched, Happy smiled, reached out, and placed hers over theirs. Collette wiggled theirs free and curled their fingers around Happy's, briefly reaching back with one hand to wipe their eyes.

Collette had enjoyed teaming up with Toby to make fun of Happy's lack of knowledge of children's literature. Toby had no doubt that the two of them could develop a wonderful relationship and, eventually, truly see each other as parent and child.

He knew it was ridiculous to think so when they'd only known Collette for a half an hour...but as Toby watched his wife and the pre – teen interact, he couldn't help but feel like the two of them already were.


	77. Chapter 77

Paige returned from the bathroom and emptied the rest of her water bottle in the sink. Her legs were tingling, and she wanted to sit down, but once she did, she was committed. She didn't want to have to struggle to her feet after ten minutes to go use the bathroom again. She already was in danger of peeing when she laughed, she didn't want _stood up_ to be yet another excuse for her bladder. Not when she had already woken up that morning with leaky nipples.

"At least the stupid fake contractions don't hurt," she mumbled to herself, running her pointer fingers over her stomach. "Just two more weeks and you're getting evicted, little girl. Lucky for you, it isn't summer, so I'm not too annoyed. But the back pain, that kinda sucks. And the boobs, they're super tender too. They're not even going to feed you; you'd think that we could just switch that off for a surrogate pregnancy. Maybe you'll grow up and be the one to figure out how to do that." She smiled fondly, imagining Walter's niece as a prestigious research scientist. "Or maybe you'll be more like your mom. A genius in the non – conventional sense. In your own way. Maybe you'll be a poet, or a photographer. Or a police...officer. Police officer. We don't say policeman anymore. Police officer. Fire fighter. Person – hole cover. You know." She chuckled at her own joke, then glanced across the room at where Sylvester and Walter had been talking.

It was the anniversary of Megan's death, and that morning before going to work, Walter had stopped, looked at her, and bit his lip. She wrapped her arms silently around him, like she had that Christmas Eve that he'd first allowed himself to grieve. This time, he didn't cry, but he had held her much tighter than normal, then promising her that he was okay, he and Sly would do something together during the day, then they'd all go to the beach at sunset, as they had on this day ever since the first full year that she was gone.

Walter and Sylvester were walking in her general direction, still engaged in conversation. "Do you wanna maybe...go to that place she liked?" Sly was asking. "The small one a couple miles from here with the..."

"...the really greasy burgers." Sylvester and Walter finished the sentence together and chuckled. "Yeah," Walter said. "I'd really like that. Let's go soon, though, so we can get back before the others do."

Sly looked over at her. "You want to come, Paige?"

"Are you kidding?" She joked from the couch. "I just sat down, it's gonna be a couple of hours before I have the will to get up again." Smirking, she put her feet up on the coffee table. "Seriously though, you're Megan's boys, you two just make a day of it."

"A couple hours of it," Sylvester said. "We all want to be here when Happy and Toby get back from meeting Collette."

"I really hope that that meeting goes well," Paige said. "I obviously don't know Collette, but from what I've been told, the three of them should be good for each other."

"I hope so," Sylvester said. "It'll be nice to have another teenager around here. Some young blood."

"Said no one who has ever been around multiple teenagers at the same time, ever," Paige joked.

"Ralph and Owen?" Walter challenged.

Paige shifted uncomfortably. "Fair point."

"We'll call if we're gonna be more than two hours," Walter said before turning to smile at Sly. "Ready?"

He nodded.

* * *

"I think she'd be glad," Sylvester said, "if she knew where we were now."

"She did love these burgers," Walter said, taking a large bite of his.

"No," Sylvester said with a little laugh. "I mean, she'd be glad of where we are in life. I've gotten so much better about my anxiety, for one. And she wanted this for you, you know. To have Paige."

"She didn't know..." Walter trailed off. Megan had been the first one that he'd admitted to that what he felt when he looked at Paige was _different_. But they'd never talked about it, not explicitly. She had seemed to understand that he didn't really get it himself yet, that summer following his car accident.

"She knew." Sylvester smiled, nodding slowly. "I think she knew you loved her when she died."

Sylvester's excessive use of pronouns might have been hard to follow if Walter didn't know exactly what the younger man meant. "I don't know...it's hard to pinpoint when exactly my feelings for Paige reached that level. I might have been in love with her by the time Megan passed away, but...that was several months off of when I realized it myself. All I remember around that time regarding Paige was I didn't feel quite so lost if she was beside me." He shook his head. "Do you...do you think...what do you think she would think if she knew you hadn't ever started seeing anyone else? I know she told you..."

"I've thought about that, to be honest," Sylvester said. "But, I'm not refusing to see anyone else, you know? I'm not refusing to socialize with other people, I'm not denying feelings for anyone it's just..." He shrugged. "I haven't had an interest in anyone. I don't want to see anyone. My promise to her was just that I wouldn't hold back. And..." he trailed off, a smile coming over his face. "And it's still her, Walter. It's her every second of every day, even though she's not here anymore."

Walter knew how broad the smile was on his face, despite what day it was. "I'm so glad the two of you found each other. She...we both, for different reasons, assumed we'd just go through life alone. And I found someone wonderful and you...I know you did too. And _she_ did." The smile slid from his face. "God, I miss her though."

Sylvester nodded, staring down at his drink. "I do too."

The silence was broken by Walter's phone ringing. "Wasn't expecting a call from..." he said, answering it. "Hello?"

"Walter! Can you hear me?"

Cabe's voice was loud and clear, and Walter answered in the affirmative. "Great, kid, well I just wanted to let you know we are a – okay, nothing to worry about, things seem to be calming down, but Tim and I are both down here, and my guess is we'll be back late."

"You're...okay?" Walter cocked his head, frowning. Sylvester mouthed the word _Paige_ in questioning, and he shook his head. "You and Tim are where?"

Sylvester started nodding as he realized who Walter was talking to.

"What's going on?" Walter asked again.

"You don't know?" Cabe asked. "There was a shooting. About four miles from the garage."

"A shooting? Do you need us?" He asked. He placed the phone on the table. "You're on speaker."

"I don't think we'll be needing anyone else," Cabe said. "The shooter is in an office in an abandoned building and we have a team talking him down. It seems to be going well so far, Toby has already listened in on some of the audio and said the guy is showing all the signs of being ready to come in. And there aren't any serious injuries, thankfully. The biggest issue is going to be the traffic jam. It could last for hours. Tim and I are working to focus the crowds away. But don't worry, kid. It should be perfectly clear by the time we have to leave for Malibu."

"Megan." Walter spoke quietly. He knew it was irrational, but the thought of not being at the beach for his sister's annual memorial felt like some sort of horrible failure.

"Don't worry, Walter," Cabe said again. "We will have the roads clear by the evening. We will have the memorial just as we planned."

When the call ended, Walter set the phone down on the table, then, agitated, grabbed it for something to do. He flipped it over a couple times, then shoved it in his pocket.

"It'll be okay, Walter," Sylvester said. "The traffic is probably mostly just gawkers."

"Or people trying to get to the scene to make sure their loved ones are okay."

"Either way," Sylvester said, "it's not going to complicate getting to the beach. I'm not worried at all." He paused, then a small smile came over his face. "I never would have said that before I met her."


	78. Chapter 78

"Is there anything else I can get for you folks?"

The waitress looked mildly annoyed, and Walter realized they had been sitting there with empty plates for going on twenty minutes.

"I'm sorry," Sylvester said. "It'd just take a really long time for us to get home, that blockade a few miles away, it's..."

"Oh yes," she said, "I did see that on the TV by the bar. Well, my section isn't busy, so feel free to stay a little longer until it's cleared up some."

"Thank you," Walter said, giving her a nod. "We appreciate it." He tapped his knuckles together. If they got back an hour later, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. They didn't ever go to the beach until sunset, and they had plenty of time for that. Plus...

"Walter, your phone is ringing," Sylvester said.

"Oh." He reached in his pocket, struggling to remove the phone while sitting down. When he finally had the phone in his hand, he glanced at the caller ID. "It's the garage," he said as he put the device to his ear. "Hello?"

Nothing. He glanced at the screen again. "Went to voicemail."

"If it's important they'll call back," Sylvester said.

"And there we go," Walter said, answering the new incoming call. "Hello?"

"Walter."

"Hey Paige."

"Walter," she said again, and her tone made him suddenly anxious, "Walter I started having contractions and they're really close together."

"How close together?" He nodded when Sylvester's eyes widened.

"Less than two minutes." He could hear her breathing. "The first two were ten minutes apart, I wasn't going to call, because that's...that's not a rush, we...and now I've had like six right in a row that I can't talk through and I need you to get back here because this feels like three quarters of the way through my labor with Ralph."

Walter jumped up. "Are you sure they're not Braxtons?"

"Braxton's don't hurt, Walter. These _hurt_."

Walter knew that. He willed himself out of the denial his mind had immediately gone to. "Did you call an ambulance?"

"They can't come. They're bogged down with some shooting."

 _Oh God._ "Okay," Walter said, clearing his throat and grabbing his wallet. "Think about breathing, lay down, we'll be there soon."

"Just hurry."

"Okay," Walter said. "We're on our way. We'll be there in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"Go and lay down. We're coming."

"Come on, Sly," Walter said when he hung up. "She skipped over early labor and went straight into active. We gotta get over there."

They ran to the car, and Walter slammed down the gas pedal, making the car screech as it rocketed out of the parking lot. Right away, they were in a deadlock, the traffic even worse than normal because of the commotion down the street. "Dammit!" Walter activated the dashboard. "Call Paige," he told the car.

She picked up on the second ring. "Where are you?"

"We just hung up."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Sylvester said, glancing at Walter worriedly, "it's only been four minutes."

"You have to get here," she said. "You have to get here now."

"Paige, honey, we're on our way," Walter said. "We're in traffic. That shooting that Tim and Cabe are at, it's blocking our way. Everyone wants to get out of the area. They're gridlocked."

"Hurry!" she said again, her voice shrill. "Walter..."

"We're coming," Walter said. "I promise. We'll get out and run if we have to, okay?"

"You said active labor," Sylvester said quietly when they hung up. "But that doesn't seem like active labor to me. Contractions barely two minutes apart? We've read the books. It sounds almost like she's in transition already."

"She can't be in transition," Walter said. "She's only been in labor a half hour."

"What about precipitous labor?" Sylvester asked. "I read about a lady who wasn't in labor and then forty minutes later had her baby in the hallway on the way to the bathroom."

"No."

"Walter."

"No!"

"Walter!" Sylvester shouted. "We have to consider it. That's what it sounds like..." He trailed off.

Walter stared at the completely unmoving cars in front of him. " _No_!" He said again, blaring the horn even though he knew no one had any ability to move. " _Paige! Paige_!"

" _Walter!_ " Sylvester grabbed his wrist, preventing him from driving it back into the center of the wheel. "You can't lose it right now!"

"Sly," he gasped, looking over at the younger man. "Get out your phone. We need to get creative."

* * *

 Driving the wrong way up an empty one way street and cutting through parking lots, it took thirty five minutes to get back to the garage. Paige had stopped answering the phone by the fourth time he called, and Walter burst through the front door and paled when he saw her sitting on the fourth step from the bottom, her hands gripping one of the steps, her eyes squeezed shut. "Paige," he said frantically, running to the staircase and crouching over her. "Paige, I thought you were going to lie down."

She shook her head, her jaw clenched. She remained that way for several more seconds, then her body relaxed and she sucked in a breath, looking at him. "Can't..." she gasped. "Can't get up the stairs. Walter," she said, "it's precipitous."

"I know," he said, reaching out his arms. "Come on, stand up, there you go." He slowly guided her down the stairs, one, two, three, four, and they were on the main floor. "Sly, grab the bag, we have to go."

"We won't make it to the hospital," Paige said. "This is going too fast."

"It's only a twenty minute drive," Sylvester said.

"I don't think that's enough time," Walter said, hurriedly adjusting his hold on Paige to keep her upright when she cried out and bent at the waist, her hands curling around her stomach. "Especially with the traffic jam. Breathe, Paige, breathe."

"Oh God," Sylvester said. "This is going to happen here, isn't it?"

"She's not having this baby in the car," Walter said. _She's not supposed to have it like this at all!_ He eased himself down with Paige as she slowly dropped to the floor. He used one hand to support her head as she curled into the fetal position, both her hands now gripping his other one. "Paige, honey, breathe. Oh God I wish Toby was here."

Sylvester looked confused, then cleared his throat. "Right, because he's a doctor."

"He's delivered babies before," Walter said. Paige whimpered, and Walter squeezed her hand. He was trying – so very hard – not to panic. But this was the worst case scenario. This wasn't the planned C – section, which he'd stopped feeling anxious about. This wasn't an emergency C – section at the hospital. _They weren't even in a sterile environment._ And she wasn't making it anywhere else, he could see that.

"Paige, we gotta get you upstairs," Sly said, reaching over and brushing her hair back from her face. "You don't want to do this on the floor."

"We won't get her up the stairs," Walter said. "Precipitous labor doesn't take long but it's just as tiring as more common durations because the body is doing the same amount of work in less time. Power equals the work done divided by the time taken, and what we expected to happen in at least eight hours is going to happen in about sixty minutes. There may also be increased fetal stress due to..."

He trailed off as Paige's body tensed up again and she sat up, leaning back on her hands. "Hey, hey," Sylvester said, reaching out and awkwardly patting her knee. "Just keep breathing. A precipitous birth increases the chance of fetal distress due to lack of oxygen."

"I wish there was something we could do for her other than telling her to breathe," Walter said, feeling frustrated. "She _knows_ to breathe."

"Are we absolutely sure we can't get her to a hospital?"

"It would take twenty minutes to get to the nearest one _if_ we hit all the lights," Walter said, "on a good day. And with the disaster downtown and all the roadblocks, it could take us literal hours and I don't see us getting an ambulance either. But call again, Sly, _call again_!" Sylvester yanked out his phone and immediately started dialing.

"We don't have twenty minutes," Paige wheezed laying on her side again, her hands tucked under her stomach with her fingers repeatedly curling and uncurling, as if she were trying to reassure the baby.

"Well you said you weren't looking forward to another thirty hours of this," Walter said. "Sorry," he added immediately at the look on her face. He knew this wasn't ideal. She had no time to process one thing before her body moved on to the next, nor had she much time – if any at all – to rest between contractions. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Has your water broken?"

"No," she said, immediately curling into the fetal position again and squeezing her eyes shut. Walter glanced at his watch. Her contractions were rolling, coming one after the other. She'd barely had thirty seconds in between. He rubbed her arm, a hand in her hair as his knees pressed against her back. Her near constant changing of positions meant she wasn't able to get comfortable, to find anything that worked for her. "Walter. Linda...Linda was right."

"What?" Walter shook his head – whatever she was talking about probably wasn't at the top of their list of priorities. "I can't carry you up the stairs," he said. "We could both fall. Do you want to go to the couch?"

She nodded, biting her lip, sitting up enough for Walter to get his hands under her arms, helping her slowly rise to her feet. She wobbled, off balance, and he steadied her. Sylvester was scooting to her other side when she bent again, dropping back to the floor despite the attempts of both men to keep her up, letting out a sound that Walter could only describe as a yell.

They dropped down next to her. "She's going to have it on the floor!" Sylvester exclaimed, sounding panicky.

"Paige, Paige, you gotta blow," Walter said. "You gotta slow this down, not a lot, just long enough for us to get you off the floor." He took her face in his hands. "Just like candles, you remember, candles, Paige." She nodded. "Good," Walter said as she began to do as he suggested. "There you go. This is good. It'll give your body a little more time to get ready, too. If you tear, there's no emergency care here. I'm not trying to scare you. But you need to slow this down just a little bit. Your contractions are stronger than they would be if this wasn't precipitous, which means there's a greater risk of harm to the baby, and it's important you do your best right now. Every _second_ you slow this down is helpful." This type of labor scenario also greatly increased the chances of a hemorrhage, even in a completely healthy woman – but Walter wasn't going to tell her that. It would only scare her more, and he felt that if he said it out loud, it would become a reality.

Paige leaned forward when the contraction ended, her forehead against his chin, and his hands still on her face, he held her there. Her breathing was shaky. He wanted to get her up, to scoop her into his arms and sprint to the couch, but he couldn't. She was scared, this wasn't like the last time, not at all, and he couldn't be one more thing that was rushing her.

A tiny comfort was remembering that Toby was not the only one of them who had delivered a baby before. Paige had too, nearly sixteen years ago.

Her next contraction began, again less than a minute after the previous one, and he lifted her head to look at him as she began to blow through it. Her hands came up, closing over his wrists as he cupped her face, locking her eyes on his. He thought about how he couldn't have sex without being able to make eye contact with her – and he was getting the impression that she wouldn't get through this stage without eye contact with him. So he didn't glance over at Sylvester – he didn't even blink. He just looked into her eyes, giving a small, encouraging nod. She'd told him more than once that his eyes were extremely expressive, and he hoped he was showing her what she needed to see. When the pain ceased, she closed her eyes, sucking in another deep, but shaky, breath.

"Walter," she said after a moment, a tremor in her voice, "I can't walk," she opened her eyes and repeated, "I can't walk anymore. My legs are tingling. They were this morning..."

"Sly, move the coffee table away from the couch," Walter instructed. "I'm going to carry her over there. The arm will provide support for her back. We don't want her laying flat. That way is no good."

Sylvester moved away, hurrying across the floor. Walter slid his hands down to Paige's, and their fingers linked, Paige gripping tightly. "Sylvester is getting the couch ready. I'm going to carry you over there, okay?" He wasn't sure if she'd heard him and Sylvester's discussion. "Do you hear me?"

She nodded. Walter glanced over at Sylvester, who was dragging the coffee table off to the side. "Are you ready?" he asked Paige.

She shook her head, cringing, pulling her hands away from him to support her upper body and throwing her head back, blowing again, tears in her eyes. She began making a low, guttural moaning sound that somehow managed to ease Walter's mind – it was an efficient vocalization in terms of helping her body prepare – and terrify him at the same time.

Sylvester was looking over at them. "As soon as this one is over," he said, "we need to get her off the floor."

As if on cue, Paige's body relaxed, then she made a face and shifted her weight, separating her knees a few inches. "Water broke." Her hands were on her bump, which was considerably lower than it had been the previous day.

"Come on," Walter said, gathering her into his arms and grunting as he rose to his feet. A pain shot through his back. But it wasn't the time to think about that.

"Not the couch," Sylvester said, returning and shaking his head. "The other arm – the one she won't rest against – will get in the way of someone catching the baby."

Walter's eyes fell on the table in the corner, just to the side of the desks. "There."

They rushed to it, and Walter eased Paige onto the surface, and she awkwardly shuffled into a sitting position, her legs dangling off the edge of the tale. "Get a pillow from the couch for her head," he told Sylvester. "Actually no, don't, she needs her upper body elevated to gravity can help. I don't know why movies always have someone lying flat on their back. That's a terribly inefficient way to deliver." He thought he had maybe already said that. "Okay Sly," he continued. "You're going to need to get on the table and support her. Help her stay sitting up, let her lean on you. It's not the _most_ efficient position in terms of working with gravity, but..."

"But it's a better resting position, and she's exhausted." He began nodding, then stopped and frowned. "No. I don't want to do that. I want to catch the baby."

Walter raised his eyebrows. "Sly, there's gonna be...that's not a _clean_ job."

"I know," he said. "But she's my daughter. And if Megan was in this position, I would pull together. So yeah, I want to do it. Is that okay with you, Paige?"

"Whatever you want," she said. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she gave a sharp intake of breath, her hand closest to the edge of the table reaching out and clamping around it. She arched her back, and Walter noticed the way her shirt clung to her breasts. _Your breasts may leak more in the days before delivery,_ the doctor had said. He'd known she was close – why hadn't they stayed home this morning?

Walter narrowed his eyes and leaned in near Sylvester. "You pay attention to bleeding," he said in a low voice. "Pay real close attention." The younger man nodded quickly. Walter grabbed his arm, his eyes flashing. " _You'd better_."

Sylvester nodded again. "I will. I will."

The contraction expelled more water, and Paige gripped the table as she continued her low vocalization.

"Just breathe," Walter said, jumping the distance to her side. "You're doing great. This is what I told you about, Paige. You're so tough, you can accomplish anything, okay? And you've done this before. You know how this goes." He remembered what the books and the doctors said. At this point in labor – she was _certainly_ in transition – some women wanted to be completely left alone, not talked to, not touched. If Paige was in a normal labor that may have applied to her, but this was different, this was fast and scary even for someone who had given birth before and she grabbed and clung to his hand as if it were her lifeline.

The next few contractions rolled right in, one after the other, each relieving Paige's body of more amniotic fluid. Her skirt was hiked up, out of the way, and Sylvester hurried to dry the floor so he could get in position. "I can't believe this is happening like this," he muttered under his breath. "Meg, we're not prepared, I'm not prepared..."

Paige's arm was around Walter's shoulders as he supported her. "You can make as much noise as you need to," he reminded her, although he knew she wasn't holding back. Truthfully, he was glad that this wasn't like the movies. It was hard enough to watch, feel, and hear what was actually happening. If she started screaming, he didn't know if he'd be able to hold it together for her, and he _had_ to hold it together for her. Walter climbed onto the table, helping Paige sit up. He sat behind her, letting her lean against him. He'd barely gotten into position when she shifted her weight and grunted, the sound turning into a sharp whimper almost immediately.

"Is it time?" Walter asked.

She bit her lip and nodded.

"You can't slow it down anymore?"

Her voice was quiet and high pitched. " _No_."

"Sly!" he shouted, even though the younger man was right there.

"Oh God," Sylvester said, wiping his brow as he pushed her skirt farther up, out of the way. "I need gloves."

"No time," Walter said, referencing the low sounds Paige was making, wincing himself at the grip she had on his arms as they curled around her.

"Okay, okay." Sylvester was white as a sheet. "I'm going to pass out."

"Sly," Paige said as her contraction ended. "Breathe."

"Ah," Sylvester said, his voice high pitched "the irony of the woman going through childbirth telling _me_ to breathe."

"Walter," Paige said. "Help keep hold."

Walter shifted his arm position from resting on her stomach to one hand around each kneecap, holding them as closely against her as they could get. "Sly, how are things looking?"

Sylvester was still pale. "I uh..." he gulped. "I can see some of the head. Oh my god, am I going to have to tell her when to push? How would I know when's a good time? Is now a good time? Are you pushing already? Do I have to coach it? I don't know what to do! The doctors were supposed to take care of this part."

"I think..." Paige panted, her head tipped back against Walter. "I think I can figure it out."

Walter and Sly exchanged brief smiles – a slightly smartass comment meant Paige's mind was adjusting to the physical test her body was being put through. _If only that meant she would clot._ "There you go," Walter whispered, his lips against her ear. "You're doing great. You're almost there." He pressed his cheek to hers. "I love you."

She closed her eyes, grunting, her body pressing back against Walter. "There you go," Walter said again, even though he honestly had no idea if this was still going well. She wasn't in an alarming amount of pain, all things considered, so assuming everything was still fine was probably safe. But when she relaxed again, he felt her entire body shaking with fatigue, and he wished there was something else he could do. Releasing her legs, he wrapped his arms around her and adjusted his weight.

"Walter," she whimpered.

"I'm right here, Pay," he said. "Rest a minute."

She gave a small nod, her head tipping back against his shoulder. Walter pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Take it easy."

"This part..." she panted, "took...took forty minutes with Ralph."

"Good," Walter said, "think of that. You know how little time forty minutes is, we've had to save the world in that time before. And this won't take so long. Toby would call this the final furlong."

Paige kept her eyes closed; Walter and Sylvester exchanged relieved glances. Ever since they'd arrived at the garage, Paige hadn't had a definable rest period between her contractions, the next one appeared to roll in almost as soon as the previous one was done. The pushing stage was a little more spread out. Now, she'd gone nearly a minute without having to do any work.

"God," she mumbled, placing one of her hands just below her breasts and tightening her muscles there, grunting and turning her head to the side, pushing it against Walter's neck. It wasn't comfortable, but he wasn't going to complain. He mumbled to her, telling her again how great she was doing, how they were nearly there, how he and Sly were both with her and how he was so, so proud of what she had done for his brother. Keep breathing, he reminded her. The baby wasn't breathing on her own yet, and if Paige wasn't getting oxygen, neither was Sly and Megan's daughter.

Eventually he felt her body relax and he moved his head so he could kiss her cheek again. "There you go," he whispered. "You're doing great, now you can rest again." He hated feeling her body shake like it was. "Deep breaths," he reminded her, his lips still against her cheek. Her skin and hair were sweaty.

She spoke again, her voice lacking substance. "Walter."

He cuddled her closer. "Right here."

"I'm so tired."

"I know," he said. "Rest a minute."

She felt like dead weight in his arms as she slumped against him. "That's right," he said encouragingly, started at how strange his voice sounded, _she cannot know you're worried_ , "time to rest."

"Going," she said after a minute, under her breath, warning Sly as she grunted, took a breath, and began to push again. She breathed out slowly, leaning back against Walter, a hand on the top of her abdomen. He could feel the effort her body was putting out, and when she relaxed again – more like when she went limp, Walter realized in alarm – he moved a hand up, pushing hair away from her face, his palm against her forehead as she gasped for air.

"Are you okay?" Sylvester asked. "I mean, considering?"

Walter wanted to say no, she wasn't okay, _look at her shaking_ , but he knew this was what was supposed to happen. He just wished she'd had a little more time to do it.

"Is she making any progress?" Walter asked. He couldn't see well from his angle. Sylvester looked worried. " _Sly_!"

"No," the younger man said quietly, his forehead sweaty, "she's not. Not that I can see. I know it's kinda of a two steps forward, one step back kinda process but..." he shook his head. "She's not moving at all.

"We need more gravity," Walter said. He wanted to help Paige stand, but he forced himself to stay quiet. She was the one having the baby, it wasn't his labor, or Sylvester's, to dictate.

Plus, he realized, fearfully, Paige might not have the strength to do this while on her feet. He just hoped she'd be okay the way they were. Her body felt hot, and oddly, despite her pregnancy, she felt small.

"Take a deep breath before you push again," Walter said into her ear. "Hold that oxygen. Then stop pushing and blow out."

"I'll be back," Sylvester said, jumping up and darting across the garage. Walter watched him go in surprise and confusion, two feelings that dissipated as soon as he returned, less than a minute later, with a dripping wet hand towel. Standing in front of them again, he pressed the towel against Paige, between her legs. "It's warm," he said. "It should make you feel better and help you stretch. Do you feel it?"

She nodded, and almost immediately tensed, her face contorting as her body strained. Walter resumed his chant, whispering furiously to her how proud he was, how well she was doing, how little time still had to pass before it would all be over. He hoped her eyes were still closed when the contraction ended, he looked at Sly, and the younger man shook his head – still no progress.

They couldn't for sure say the baby was stuck – not yet. The head was frequently a slow delivery process. But Walter's mind couldn't help but rush to the worst case scenario. The baby could get its oxygen cut off. Even if things did get moving, at any moment Paige could start to bleed out. If she did, she could lose consciousness within moments. And she would never wake up.

 _If she hemorrhages,_ Walter vowed, _I won't fool myself, trying to save her once she's past help._ He'd made that mistake with Megan. _I will gather her into my arms and tell her I'm here and I'll love her forever with every beat of my heart._ If this was the end, he'd make sure she knew, in her last moments, exactly what she was. And he'd make sure she'd know there was no reason to worry about Ralph. Walter would give up everything before he'd orphan that boy. He'd quit Scorpion. He'd take Ralph and move to a small middle of nowhere town where nothing happened.

"I...I can't..." Paige gasped, wiggling slightly on the table.

"What?" Sylvester asked, looking alarmed, keeping the towel against her. She answered by moaning again.

"Keep pushing," Walter said. "Once the head is out it'll be easier." He looked at Sly, his heart sinking when he shook his head again.

_We've already lost Megan._

The thought of his sister – and a story that Sylvester had once told him – gave Walter an idea. "Paige, we need more gravity. I know you can't stand, but all you have to do is wrap your arms around my neck. I'll support you. Okay?" He eased off the table, sliding her with him, trying to help her turn around to face him. She slid her arms around his neck as he'd asked, her body angled against his to make room for her stomach, and Walter held her up. She was supporting some of her weight, standing with her feet just wider than shoulder width apart – but she'd collapse immediately if he moved away. "I've got you," he promised.

He felt her body tense up and her arms go weak around him. He held her tighter as her knees buckled and felt her moan through his entire body. "Push hard," Walter said quietly, directly into her ear. "Push super hard."

She went limp again, almost before her body relaxed, and Walter fought down the panic that was threatening to bubble over at the realization that she wasn't quite strong enough to last an entire contraction. "Don't worry about a thing," he said when he felt her feet weakly shuffling. "I'm not letting you go. Just focus on the baby. That's all you have to worry about."

Almost immediately her body tensed again, and Paige buried her head into his neck as she tried to push again, but after only a few seconds, he heard and felt her weaken, and then she started to cry.

Walter couldn't remember the last time his heart had hurt like this. And then he remembered what day it was.

_We lost Megan four years ago today._

He felt Paige try to gather herself again. "Oh, honey," he said, his voice completely betraying everything he felt. He wanted to cradle her head, but he had to hold her up. He could feel her struggling through the contraction, unable to stop it, unable to put it to use. "Just hang on, Paige," he murmured. "Just hang on." He craned his head to kiss her cheek. "Don't try it," he said. "Just rest." He tried to readjust his grip on her, but her whole body was slick with sweat and he was terrified of not being able to hold her up.

When the next contraction started, Sylvester came up and pressed against Paige, helping to brace her between himself and Walter, both men reminding her to breath and rest. Walter saw the guilt overwhelming Sylvester's eyes.

Paige said something, her voice quiet and weak, and Walter tipped his head down again. "What was that, Love?" he asked, hating that he was asking her to do something – even something as seemingly simple as repeating herself.

"I...love you," she managed. "I love you. And Ralph. So much."

 _Don't do this, Paige,_ Walter thought to himself. "We love you too," he said, wondering if it was time to launch into the speech he'd come up with in his head only minutes before on the table. _No. This isn't the end._

"You're the greatest thing to ever happen to either of us," she said weakly. "We're so lucky."

 _Please don't do this. You're going to be fine. You can tell me later._ He didn't speak. He didn't trust himself to get the sentence out.

She tensed again, and pushed her forhead against his clavicle so hard he cringed. Sylvester took a step back as her body jerked, keeping a hand out in case he needed to help keep her standing. She weakened, again, before the contraction was over, but Walter thought that, perhaps, that one made some progress.

She struggled through one more in the standing position before she began to shift her feet together, and Walter interpreted that as a fear that the baby might slip and hit the cement, so he scooped her up and lay her back down on the table, crouching down with Sly to look.

"Oh yep," Sylvester said. "Look at that. We've almost got a head now."

"It's about time," Walter said, rising and climbing back up on the table, gathering Paige in his arms just in time for another contraction to take hold. Paige put her head to her chest.

"Is that making any more progress?" Walter asked.

Sylvester nodded. "Some. This first part takes the most time, right?"

Walter knew they'd already talked about that, but he nodded. "Once the head and shoulders are born it's faster."

"Well," Sly said, "things seem to be moving now."

Paige tugged on her skirt, straightening it from where it had bunched around her waist, using it to dry her hands. She placed a hand back on her stomach, applying more pressure as she pushed again.

"Deep breaths." Walter once again pressed his lips to her cheek. He didn't think he could do it enough. Her head lolled to the side again, he could feel her breath both in the way her body pulled in the air and in her sharp exhales.

Even now that things were happening, even back in the resting position, she was struggling. Walter bit his lip and tried to pull her closer, wishing his arms could conduct strength, wishing his lips on her cheek could provide energy. "You're almost done," he whispered, his voice low, intimate, hopefully reassuring. "It's almost over, Love, you're almost there..." he trailed off momentarily to get control over the emotion in his voice before he whispered, "and _God_ , am I proud of you."

The first time he'd told her he was proud of her was years ago, outside her college, and he remembered her smile, the look in her eyes. She liked hearing he was proud of her. He hoped it would help her now.

She shifted her weight, as if preparing to push a, but then she weakened. "I, I don't..." she gasped, going limp again. Her voice was weak, airy, as Megan's had been right before she died. Walter forced that feeling down. _She's not going to die. We've had enough death on this day_. She was exhausted, but she wasn't dying. Exhausted women gave birth all the time – it pretty much went with the territory – and Paige being tired was one of the few things that didn't increase the risk of bleeding out. He knew this, and yet the similar lack of substance in her voice to his sister's last words kept the knot in his stomach. He put his lips against her ear. "I've got you. You're okay."

She rested her hands on his again. "Linda was right."

"Paige, _what does that mean_?"

"She told me I'd want you." Her head tipped against his neck. "At this part. I'd need you with me."

He was half grateful she somehow still felt strong enough to talk and half terrified at the continued weakness in her voice. "Well," he said, "I'm right here and I've got you and I'm not going anywhere."

Another contraction took hold – Walter saw her belly tighten and lift – and she cried out sharply, her right leg jerking.

"Head is here!" Sylvester proclaimed. "Head is here, oh my gosh, I can't see her face, she's face down, but she's perfect. She's perfect, Paige."

"Good," Paige managed weakly, still gasping.

Walter felt her shaking again, and the sound she made when another contraction started made him feel like his already broken heart had been thrown in a blender. When they were on cases, if something was too much for her, he'd often try to lessen her load even if it meant overworking himself. Here, he literally had nothing taxing to do and there was no way to help take some of it off of her.

"There you go," Sylvester said encouragingly, smiling.

Walter looked at him curiously. "Almost?"

Sylvester nodded rapidly, his hands no longer visible to Walter. "She's almost here. Maybe just one more and I can get her."

"She knows how much you want her," Paige managed. "She wants to get here for you."

Sylvester bit his lip. "I know that's impossible, but for some reason that makes me want to cry."

"Hold it together," Walter said, this time the encouragement directed toward Sylvester instead of the woman in his arms.

"Hear me, baby? Hold together," Sylvester whispered under his breath. "Paige, do you want to touch her?"

Paige shook her own head briefly, tipping once to each side. "It's okay," Walter said to her again. "This is almost over." His eyes fell on the movies sitting on her desk – their planned distractions for the early stages before the scheduled c – section, and afterward their planned distractions for the inevitable sleepless night before the procedure. But there would be no planned c – section. There wouldn't even be an emergency one. Just over an hour ago, Paige hadn't been in labor. Now she was minutes away from no longer being pregnant.

_She's so efficient._

The thought made Walter smile affectionately, and he kissed her cheek again.

Paige grunted again, her head tucking to her chest, her hands sliding to Walter's wrists, squeezing them hard. Then she relaxed, Sylvester smiled, and there was a tiny squeak.

"Oh God," Paige gasped in relief, slumping against Walter, her body shuddering with fatigue, her legs going completely limp, knees falling to the side. "Oh God."

Walter rocked her gently from side to side, craning his neck around to kiss the corner of her mouth. He knew he couldn't hold her closely enough to stop the trembling, but he sure as hell was going to try.

Sylvester cradled the baby, rocking her gently back and forth to help ease the shock of so rapidly entering the world. There were tears in his eyes. "Hello, little girl," he said in a choked voice, his words barely audible. "Hello."

Walter wanted to watch them, wanted to see Megan's daughter, but his first order of business was Paige. She lay in his arms, her body still shaking, seemingly unresponsive. "Paige," he said frantically. "Paige, talk to me."

She managed a weak, high pitched "uhhhh," and tipped her head to the side.

He shifted her position against him, sliding his arm around and up against her cheek, holding her against him. "Paige, stay with me. You did it. She's here. Stay with me, Paige."

Her eyes were closed, her skin clammy. "Walter."

"Right here," he said, kissing her cheek. "You're all done. You can rest. But stay awake. We will have to get you to the hospital. They'll be here soon."

She didn't respond, and Walter shook her gently. "Paige, stay awake."

"She's okay?" Paige asked weakly, her eyes still closed as she lay against Walter.

Sylvester's smile hadn't been so broad in a long time, his eyes locked on his daughter. "She's great."

"Oh." Walter shifted his weight, wiggling out of his jacket and handing it to Sylvester, who settled the baby inside. "Watch the cord. We want to wait another two minutes before it's cut."

"I need to sterilize some scissors," Sylvester said, looking around. They were running out of hands.

"Give her to me."

"Um...Paige?" Walter said uncertainly. She was incredibly weak. But then, he'd never heard of a woman dropping a newborn, no matter how exhausted they were.

Sylvester seemed to have a similar concern. "Are you...sure?"

"Yes," she said, holding her arms out. Sylvester handed her the baby, touching the little chin before backing away. Walter was amazed. The Sylvester of the past would have had a meltdown if a drop of the fluids that accompanied childbirth got on him. The Sylvester of today's shirt was saturated with them and he was smiling, his eyes bright, as he moved off to find scissors.

Now that Paige was holding Sylvester's daughter, Walter could get a good look at her. Her skin tone wasn't completely identifiable, and wouldn't be until she was clean, but she appeared to take more after her mother than her father in that respect. Her hair was already in – thick and dark – and for a moment Walter wouldn't have been able to speak even if he'd been spoken to first.

This baby had Sylvester's eyes, but looked so much like the pictures of her newborn mother Walter wouldn't have thought they were crazy if someone suggested this was nothing more than déjà vu.

Her hands were still shaking, but Paige had the little girl firmly against her chest. Walter put his own hands over them to help support the baby. Sylvester came back, carrying scissors, a piece of string, and a garbage bag. "For the afterbirth," he said. "I think it might be best if we leave her attached a few more minutes."

"I can't move," Paige reminded them, her voice still weak.

"You can stay right here," Walter said. "We'll take care of everything."

The baby started to cry. "Oh, it's okay," Paige said, pulling up her skirt to wrap the newborn up in. "It's okay."

"The formula is at my place," Sylvester said. "She's going to need to eat."

"If you don't think it's too weird," Paige said quietly, after a moment, "I can feed her. It's a..." she took in a breath, "it's a circus out there."

Sly looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. You're...you're sure that wouldn't be weird?"

"It'd be better for her than to wait. Desperate times, you know," Walter said.

"Plus," Paige said, "nursing helps the afterbirth come."

"And the uterus contract back down," Walter added.

"Oh." Sylvester nodded rapidly. "Oh yeah, def...definitely, then."

He took the baby from Walter, who climbed back up on the table to help Paige sit up. Her shirt had unbuttoned during the ordeal, and she let it sling off her shoulders and unhooked her bra. Sylvester handed the baby back and Paige gently brought her to her chest, helping her find her nipple. After a few seconds, the baby latched on. Walter was glad to see that. He'd read that precipitous labor sometimes brought about a baby that wasn't hungry at first. "Did you ever figure out a name?" she asked, her hand supporting the little girl's head.

"Megan really liked the name Ariel," Sylvester said. "And I think Ariel Paige Dodd sounds nice. As long...as long as that's okay with you," he said, raising his eyebrows at her.

"I love it," she said with a smile. "That would mean so much to me, Sly."

"Megan wouldn't want her to be named after her," Sylvester said. "So I can't think of anything better than Ariel Paige."

Paige sighed and closed her eyes. Her condition was improving, but Walter wouldn't feel much better until she was at the hospital, in professional care. The baby turned her head away from Paige's breast and started to cry again. "Oh, it's okay," she said comfortingly. "I know this big bright world is scary. But we've got you." She winced slightly. "Sly, pull on the cord. Gently."

Sly did as she asked and Paige shifted Ariel to one hand, tucking her safely against her, using the other to push down on her abdomen. The afterbirth expelled easily, and Sly eased it into the bag.

"Looks intact," he remarked.

"I think so," Sylvester said. "The ambulance...based on what they said when I called...maybe they'll be here in another half hour? I'm going to start cleaning up.

"I can do that," Walter said. "You should be here with your daughter." He slid off the table, his hands still on Paige's back. "You okay?"

She gave him a small smile. "Yes. I'm so tired. But I'm okay."

"I've got her," Sylvester said, standing next to the table and putting a hand where Walter's had been.

When Walter had gone, Paige turned to Sylvester and smiled. "You're a daddy."

He was still staring at Ariel. "I am. And Megan's a mom." He looked up – Megan was literally up above them – and nodded. "We're parents, Meg."

He looked back down, into Paige's eyes. "Thank you _so_ much." He leaned over and put a chaste kiss on her cheek. "I'm sorry this happened this way."

She shook her head. "I'm so tired," she said. "But she's here. There weren't complications. It was just fast." She looked down at Ariel, who had detached herself again. "You want to hold her again?"

"Hey, Paige."

They both looked over as Walter approached, clothing in his hand. "Do you want to change?"

"Yes please." She handed the baby to Sylvester, and Walter helped her get the sweatshirt over her head. She eased off the table, unsteady, holding onto Walter, and he scooped her up, settling her on the couch before handing her sweatpants. "I didn't get underwear," he said.

"I'll just bleed right through it anyway," she said. "Not like crazy," she reassured him in response to the alarm on his face. "It's normal." She winced a couple times slipping the sweatpants on. It wouldn't surprise her if she found out later she tore a bit. And she _was_ bleeding more than she had with Ralph – she did know that. But she didn't think it was an alarming amount – it certainly wasn't a hemorrhage.

She leaned back against the couch. She still felt weak, she wouldn't be able to walk just yet. She was slightly nauseated and all her body wanted to do was sleep. But she watched Walter hold Ariel while Sylvester cut and tied the cord, both of them smiling, and she couldn't help but smile herself. As much as her body told her she needed sleep, she really didn't want to. She wanted to watch them interact.

She also wanted to keep holding Ariel. She wanted to cuddle her and let her sleep on her chest. But she'd known the entire pregnancy – and even before it – that the baby wasn't hers. They'd get checked out at the hospital and she would go home with Sylvester. Paige would be lying to herself if she said a part of her heart didn't hurt. _I carried her. I gave birth to her. How is it that she isn't mine?_ Despite being forewarned countless times that this probably would happen, she was surprised at the ferocity of her jealousy.

As soon as Ariel was back in Sylvester's arms, Walter returned to her side. He dropped on his knees in front of her and took both her hands. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," she said. "Considering." She found herself smiling at him, and was surprised at the feeling that was swelling inside her. Ariel wasn't her baby nor Walter's, much less theirs together, but she was feeling that surge of emotion for him that expectant parents were often told they might feel after the birth. It had never been clearer to her that Walter was her person. And despite her exhaustion, despite how scared she had been, she'd do this all over again to come home from the hospital with her and Walter's son or daughter in her arms.

"I love you so much." He leaned forward and she smiled as his lips found hers. She freed one of her hands and placed it on the back of his neck. "Hmmm," she said affectionately as the kiss ended, leaving her forehead against his. Walter rose up and sat on the couch next to her, easing her sideways onto her back and placing his hands on her abdomen. "You still having contractions?"

"Yeah. I don't think I'm shrinking enough though."

"Here." Walter began to massage her abdomen. Paige grunted in discomfort, but didn't protest. She knew he was trying to do what nurses did after people gave birth, helping her uterus contract back to normal size, reducing the risk of hemorrhage. With her damaged platelets, it was even more necessary than usual.

It wasn't pleasant, though. She winced, biting her lip. Her legs were over his lap and she knew every time he squeezed she was bleeding through the change of clothes that he'd just helped her into and all over him. A sharp cry escaped her lips and she reached for his wrists, tears springing to her eyes. "Walter, that hurts."

He drew their hands to his lips and kissed one of hers. "I know. You know it helps, though."

"I know." She squeezed her eyes shut as she released his hands, giving him permission to continue. His hands returned to her abdomen and he squeezed again, and she hissed in pain.

She only vaguely remembered this part with Ralph – and she remembered thinking that after giving birth, the massage was nothing. This didn't compare to giving birth to Ariel, but she was more aware of how it hurt than last time.

"That's better, I think," he said after another thirty seconds or so. His hand ran lightly over her, giving her the same relaxed feeling that his hands usually did. She whimpered again, this time in relief. Opening her eyes, Paige looked up at Walter. "Help me sit up."

Walter gathered her close. His arms around her, Paige tucked her head into his neck. "I love you so much," he whispered again.

"I just bled all over you," she said.

"I love you so much," he repeated, dismissing her concern.

"I love you too," she said, her voice laden with emotion. She didn't think she had ever loved him more than she did right now.

She inhaled, breathing in his scent. Her labor, as recent as it was, was starting to blur. She wondered if precipitous births ended up hard to remember, almost like the way people rarely recalled everything about their dreams. Walter grounded her, kept her where she needed to be, and as exhausted as she was, she could stay awake if she had to, as long as he was holding her.

She looked forward to when he could hold her like this after she delivered _their_ baby, but she didn't say that out loud. She figured she wasn't supposed to be thinking like that at the moment – she'd _just_ had a baby, it wasn't time to be thinking about another. It'd be almost two months before she and Walter would even be able to resume _protected_ baby making activities. And she certainly didn't feel up to doing this again _soon_ , but...

"Mind if I join you guys?" Sylvester asked, walking over with Ariel. He sat down on the arm of the couch.

"Certainly," Walter said, removing his forehead from Paige's and smiling up at the Dodds.

"Ambulance soon," Sylvester said to Walter and Paige. He looked down at the newborn in his arms. "We're gonna go on a little ride, yes we are."

Suddenly, the door to the garage opened and Happy walked in. Her eyes fell on Sylvester and she stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw unhinging.

Toby walked in right behind her, smiling at the group sitting on the couch. "Hi, how was your...what?"


	79. Chapter 79

Ralph hadn't hated himself so much in as long as he could remember.

Sylvester was going on and on, about how brave his mother was, about how strong she was, about how absolutely terrifying the situation had been but Paige had been a rock star.

All Ralph could think of was how scared she must have been, how something could have so easily gone tragically wrong, and _he hadn't been there._

He'd been planning on it. From the moment he found out she was pregnant, he planned to be there in the labor room with her, distracting her, holding her hand. When he found out about the planned c – section, he had refused to make any plans with Owen, or with any of his friends, for the entire week before, in case he had to drop everything and get to the hospital to be there for an emergency one.

But a week prior to December second was November twenty fifth. And it was only November twenty third now. He had thought that going to the Observatory with Owen was safe.

_She could have died!_

Ralph's knees were a few inches apart, and he began to bump them together in frustration, waiting for when someone told him he could go see his mom. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if he could face her. He and Owen were laughing, holding hands, blowing up the planet via simulation, and his mother was laying limp in his father's arms, struggling to find enough strength to deliver the baby. He and Owen were walking down the steep hill to where they'd found parking, making space puns, and his mother was laying on the couch, exhausted, bleeding all over his father while they awaited the ambulance.

His grandparents had abandoned his mother. Drew had left Paige alone. And on the scariest day of her life, her son wasn't there for her.

He couldn't help but feel that he'd done exactly what Walter had warned him not to do – been so distracted by other things, he'd missed out on a chance to be there for her.

"Ralph."

He looked up. Walter dropped down to hunker in front of him. "I'm going to see your mom and make sure she's up to more visitors. I think you should be the first to go in once she is, you agree?"

"I wasn't there for her." He felt like he was eight years old again. His voice sounded childlike.

"Ralph, she doesn't think that." Walter placed his hands on Ralph's knees. "It all happened so fast. Sylvester and I almost weren't there."

"But if I'd stayed home, there'd have been no way she'd do it alone." Ralph fidgeted. "Because I left, if you guys didn't get back in time..."

"That isn't what happened," Walter said. "Don't think like that. Plus..." he trailed off for a moment. "Plus you know how she is. If she finds out about this she'd insist that she wouldn't have wanted to put you through that."

"I know." He bit his lip. "Walter?"

"Yeah, bud?"

"Ariel isn't my mom's. She's Megan's. But my mom did the work. She carried her. She gave birth to her. So how do they explain that when Ariel is older?"

"Well, I'm sure Sylvester will just tell her that Paige was pregnant with her, but Paige isn't her mom. So the colloquialism 'made a baby' doesn't really work here. Because it could be argued that Paige 'made' Ariel, even though Ariel isn't...hers."

"I suppose that's true."

"I got a text from Drew today. Next Thursday the paperwork should be done. And then...you'll really be my father. And it got me thinking..." Ralph glanced down at his shoes. "You and my mom...you two didn't make me. Not technically. But really, you did. You and her are the reason that I am who I am."

* * *

Walter quietly entered Paige's room, closing the door slowly behind him. He stopped, standing completely still and looking at the bed.

She lay completely still in the center of it, an oxygen tube under her nose. The sheet was covering her from the chest down, accentuating the mound that was still visible under her ribs. Walking over to the bed, Walter bit his lip. He'd had it in his mind for the past several hours, but as he looked down at her, he knew it for certain – he was _not_ going to make her go through this ever again.

He sat down in the chair next to the bed and leaned forward. "Hey Paige."

Her eyes opened and she started to stretch, then winced. Turning her head, she smiled. "Hey."

She sounded tired. But it wasn't the weak, raspy voice he'd heard in the garage. The fingers on her left hand flexed, and he reached for it, the pad of his thumb running over her engagement ring. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. But better," she said. "I think once I sleep some more I'll be good as new."

"You were so amazing today," Walter said. "I just...I can't believe how strong you are."

"I don't remember much of it," she admitted. "Like, I remember what happened but I don't remember specific things that were said. It kinda feels like a blur. Maybe that's better?" She squeezed his hand. "I do remember you holding me, though. I remember thinking I couldn't do this without you there."

He lifted their hands to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to hers. "The doctors told me they're really pleased with how you're doing. They said for someone with a clotting issue like yours, you're doing almost better than they thought possible."

"They gave me some pretty strong antibiotics," Paige said, "because I delivered in an environment that wasn't sterilized. I did tell them that the baby's father probably had his hands cleaner than anything in their hospital."

Walter chuckled. "Yeah, in hindsight, Sly was the best man for that job."

"Are the others here?"

"Yes. Do you want to see them?"

"Yeah, but..." she smiled at him again, "not quite yet."

Walter stood, leaned over the bed, and kissed her on the forehead before sitting back down. "You rest. I'm not going anywhere."

"Walter?"

"Hmmm?"

She gave him the smallest of smiles. "It's all kind of foggy."

"What?"

"I mean, I remember it, but not...not details. It's kind of a blur."

She'd just told him that, but he didn't remind her. "I think that's normal. Or at least, not unheard of in cases like this."

"Yeah." She squeezed his hand. "I'm going to be really sore for a while."

"Well, I've told Cabe that I'm taking a week off from Scorpion. I'll wait on you hand and foot. And you won't need to come back until you absolutely feel ready."

"You don't have to take any time off," she said. "I'll be able to walk, and it's not like there's a baby for us to take care of. I'll be able to sleep all I want."

"Yeah," he said. _But I thought I was going to lose you today, and I realized I never fully understood how you felt when I took risks that you couldn't help me with. Not until now._ "But I want to spend some time with you. Alone."

She gave him a smile that, even despite her exhaustion, he recognized as flirty. "Wouldn't you rather do that in about two months?"

He chuckled, looking down at her fondly. "Maybe I'll just take some more time off in two months." He tightened his hand around hers. "But you're going to be uncomfortable for a while and I'd like to be there for you."

"I'd like that," she said quietly. "I'm looking forward to being able to cuddle close to you again. Well..." she ran a hand over her stomach, smaller now, but still prominent. "Closer than we have been." She looked up at him. "My stretch marks have stretch marks, Walter."

He chuckled again. "I know." He put a hand on her stomach. He couldn't help but wonder if her belly would feel squishy. He hadn't paid attention earlier, when he was trying to help her uterus contract back down to normal size.

He figured she wouldn't appreciate if he tried to figure it out now. So he left his hand there, fingers splayed across her abdomen. She would be fine, she would be perfectly fine, but he still couldn't help but fret slightly over how pale she was and how still she was lying as she looked up at him, each of her blinks lasting longer. _Don't worry, Love. You will never do this again. I will never, ever, risk you like this._

"Just think. We could be back here soon."

Walter coughed. "What?"

"You know," she said, her tone playful, as she lifted their hands off the mattress and then let them drop back. "You and I."

"Wh...what _about_ us?"

"You said you wanted a baby." She reached over with her other hand. "I realized today, the way you were looking at me afterward...and when you were holding me...I'm in, Walter."

"No, Paige," Walter said, shaking his head. "I don't want that anymore."

Her face changed, taking on such a crestfallen expression that he realized that he'd completely misread her. She wasn't agreeing to this. _She wanted it herself_. "I – I mean..." She was searching his face, confused, distressed. "I mean, I don't mean that I don't...I mean..." He sighed, frustrated. He still wanted it. Of _course_ he still wanted it. But he didn't want it badly enough to put her through this again.

"I'm confused," he admitted. He'd been so sure just moments earlier – he and Paige would never have a child, and he was completely okay with that. But now that she expressed that it was something _she_ wanted too...but it was _still_ dangerous, whether she wanted it or not...

"You _wanted_ to have a baby with me," she said. "Now you don't? Or you don't...know if you know?"

Her voice was cracking and he thought his heart couldn't take any more, not today. "I _thought_ I knew. But now I don't know. Because you, I thought you..." He looked down at their hands, conflicted. "You didn't seem very receptive to the idea before."

"That's not fair. I was pregnant. And I never said I didn't want to." Her eyes narrowed. "And what the hell is with you? You want to have a baby with me until the _second_ I say I definitely want to have one with you, then you just back off? You can't do that if I actually get pregnant, you know. You can't just come into the room after our child is born and say you suddenly don't feel like being a father anymore. _Drew_ did that, you know."

"How _dare..._ " Walter stopped to take a breath. "How _dare_ you compare me to Drew."

" _You're_ the one being wishy washy about our baby."

" _We don't have one_!" He let go of her hand, standing up and walking in a small circle.

"Uh..."

Walter and Paige stopped, both turning their heads toward the door, where Sylvester stood. He looked uncomfortable. "It...it can wait." Clearing his throat, he raised his eyebrows at Walter. "Uh, Walt, Ralph wants to see his mom, how about...how about you come with me?"

"I'll be back later," Walter said, turning back to Paige. He wanted to kiss her goodbye, but he saw the way her jaw was set, and the mention of Drew still stung. Nodding in her direction, he turned and followed Sly.

* * *

"Mom!" Ralph entered the room and rushed to Paige's bedside. "Are you okay?"

Clearly she was – she was awake and alert, the monitors next to her beeping at an encouraging rate. The boy – genius had no real, medical reason to ask if she was okay. But somehow he knew that the only thing that would stop his stomach from knotting and his heart from pounding in his head was if he heard it from her.

She reached out her hand, and he closed both his hands around it. "I'm fine, Ralphie. The baby's fine. Everything's fine."

"Marissa's been telling me about her OB classes," he said, feeling horribly guilty. "I could have helped if I'd been there. I know some stuff."

"I'm sure you could have," she said with a smile. "But don't feel guilty, baby, nothing went wrong. Sly and Walter did a great job."

" _You_ did a great job."

"Ralph," Paige said, and he felt pressure on his hand as she squeezed it, "don't be upset. I wasn't alone."

"You could have been," he said, embarrassed at his voice cracking as he spoke – that was happening enough recently without him getting all emotional. "The roads were terrible...if they hadn't gotten back when they did..." he removed a hand from around hers and put it over his face, desperately trying to regain control. _Drew left you alone, because of me._ He'd promised himself, back when he was a little boy and understood more than little boys should understand, that he would always be at his mother's side when she needed someone, even if he couldn't understand how to help her. When he'd left for the Observatory that morning, feeling completely carefree, his mother was showing no signs of labor. Now, just six hours later, everything had changed. He knew she had to have been scared. _And I wasn't there._

She rolled onto her side, wincing, reaching for him with her other hand. He stepped closer and knelt, his face just a foot from hers, reaching up to help her adjust her oxygen tube. She slid her hand into his hair. "Ralph, I hate to see you like this. You were out on a pre – planned date, it happened so fast, nobody thinks less of you for not being there."

"I think less of me." He bit his lip. He'd never told his mother about his promise before. "I vowed that I'd always be with you. That you'd never have to go through anything alone, like you did when...Drew left."

"Ralph." Tears had sprung to her eyes. "Ralph, honey, I was never alone. I always had you, and I still have you, even when you were at school, or when you're with a friend or with Owen. You don't have to be physically with me twenty four seven, three sixty five, for me to know you're there."

"That's what Walter said." He bit his lip at the change in his mother's eyes. "Did you two have a fight?" He looked at her with the same _don't – lie – to – me_ expression that he'd been on the receiving end of so many times.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "We did. I think we're...we're both kind of emotional right now, and there are some things that are a little confusing, and we both let the fact that we're kinda strung out right now get the best of us. We'll talk later, I'm sure."

Ralph nodded. "Okay."

"Hey. Ralph." She squeezed his hand again. "You're the best son I could have ever asked for. Please don't hate yourself."

He nodded.


	80. Chapter 80

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say again how much I appreciate everyone who has been reading this fic – I honestly cannot believe how many people have read it so far, and I'm completely flattered by all your comments. You guys rock, honestly.

"I heard there's a new little Scorpion!"

"Tell us about the baby! Let us see the baby! Can we see the baby?"

Linda's elbow made gentle contact with Ray's ribs. "What did we talk about in the car about being obnoxiously enthusiastic?"

"That we weren't going to do it but it turns out that Sylvester! Hey! How's the baby?"

Sylvester had walked into the waiting room looking toward Happy, Toby, Walter, and Cabe, but he turned toward the door and smiled when he saw them. "Guys! Glad you could make it."

Linda grabbed Ray's hand to keep him at her side.

"How is everyone?" Ray asked, coughing quietly. "How uh...how's Paige?"

His sudden descent into quietness told Linda that his overzealous enthusiasm of earlier was more of an act, a diversion from the same worry that had plagued Linda the entire drive over. She supposed he had done it, in part, to try and make her feel better too.

"Paige is fine," Sylvester said. "Thank God."

"Have any of you seen her yet?"

"Walter did, and Ralph is in there now," Happy said, standing up and stretching. "Let me show you guys where the vending machine is."

"Oh," Linda said, "we actually had a very nice meal down at the..."

"This is _quite_ the vending machine, I know you'll want to see it." Happy's tone and expression were insistent, and, with a glance at Ray, Linda followed the behaviorist a ways down the hall.

"What's going on, Quinn?" Ray asked when they came to a stop.

"Something went down with Walter and Paige." Happy cleared her throat. "I'm not entirely sure what, but Walter went in to see her and came back looking tense and agitated. I know they'll be okay, just...just when we all go in to see her, he may stay behind with Ralph, and if she gives any indication of what's going on with them, we need to play it like we don't know anything."

"What could have possibly gone down?" Linda wondered. "It was when they were here? Not during the birth itself?"

"Yeah," Ray said, "could it have started then, because emotions and tensions were high?"

"I think it's related," Happy said. "They've both been through a lot today, and you know, mountains and molehills... I think once the two of them have time to settle, they'll work it out. But we don't want to exacerbate anything – make it worse."

"Damn." Ray shook his head. "I wonder if he'd tell me. Fine, I won't push it," he said off of Happy's warning glare. "I wasn't expecting them to have problems, not today."

"We just have to make sure we don't let it overshadow what else has happened today," Linda said. "The baby. Sylvester and Megan's daughter."

"Exactly." Happy said. "Toby and I have some news as well, but we'll talk about it later. Right now, in this part of today, that little baby is all that matters."

"Hey, uh..." Cabe stuck his head around the corner. "I'm sure this is one swell vending machine, but they said we can go see Paige."

* * *

 

"There's the ray of sunshine," Ray said as they entered the room. "What?" He asked, looking at Linda. Then he frowned. "Oh. That was unintentional."

"How are you guys?" She asked with a smile.

"How are _you_?" Cabe asked in response.

"So sore. Tired. And gross. They don't tell you that the baby isn't the only one to go home in diapers." Paige shifted her weight. "Thankfully this isn't my first rodeo." Her eyes met Sylvester's. "How is she?"

"They're still running some tests, just want to make sure everything is a go since she's a little early. They may keep her in NICU overnight, depending on how everything looks. They said best case scenario she goes home tomorrow though, so that's a nice possibility."

"Good." Her eyes closed. "I'm glad."

"Well, we just wanted to stop in and say hello," Toby said. "We'll let you rest."

"No no, I'm not tired," Paige insisted, her eyes flying open. "I mean, I am, but not...I couldn't sleep right now or anything. My brain is going a million miles an hour. Like we're on a case, almost."

"What did they say about releasing you?" Happy asked.

"My bleeding is under control," she said, and the look of relief on Happy's face was both immediate and pronounced. "I could go home tomorrow night. Maybe."

"That's good," Linda said. "It's always nice to recover from stuff in a familiar environment. And it'll help to have your son and..." she trailed off, realizing she'd almost brought Walter into the picture. "And all of us to be able to see you whenever you want, not on some hospital's call."

She nodded, giving a little cough. "So Happy, Toby," Paige continued, folding her hands over her stomach. "Tell me about Collette?"

"Oh," Toby said, glancing at Happy with a smile on his face. "Collette is..."

"They're..." Happy bit her lower lip, looking back at him.

"You guys are smitten!" Sylvester said.

"Maybe a little bit," Happy admitted. "We're going to see them again tomorrow. And if visits continue to go well, they could be living with us by Christmas."

"Best present ever," Toby said, slinging his arm around Happy and leaning over to kiss her on the forehead.

Linda felt Ray's arm slide around her waist.

"Well," Cabe said, "they said we had to make this fairly brief, they're gonna come examine you again in a minute – sorry to be the bearer of bad news," he added with a brief chuckle at the look on her face. "Take it easy, okay kid?"

Paige nodded. "I'm about due for taking it easy, huh?"

"You got that right," he said, smiling back at her. "Come on guys, let's get going."

"Paige?" Sylvester asked. "If you feel up to it...there's something I'm going to do later. And I'd like you to be a part of it."

She raised her eyebrows. "What is it?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But I think you should be there. Meaning," he said, quickly moving to clarify, "meaning it should happen in here, where you are. If they let me bring Ariel down here. Or if they bring her, I guess I don't know how it works. But..." he cleared his throat. "Rambling. Sorry."

Paige smiled. "Whatever it is, it sounds good to me, Sly."

"Good." He smiled at her, opening his mouth as if to say something else, but a doctor showed up behind the group, and so he simply nodded toward her. "I'll see you a little later."


	81. Chapter 81

Ariel was being carried by the nurse back to her little, transparent hospital crib, and Sylvester didn't want to look away. Her color was good. She had the oxygen mask on, but they said that it was only as a precaution.

Sylvester couldn't wait to hold her again.

"We'll bring her to you in an hour or so," said one of the nurses. "Ordinarily, a newborn doing this well would be out of this room already, but given that she wasn't born in a sterile environment, we just want to keep an eye on her a little longer. But all looks good. She's a little early, but she's a very healthy looking baby." She smiled. "And very beautiful."

"Just like her mother." Sylvester said, pointing up.

"Right." The nurse nodded, a solemn expression coming over her face. "I'm sorry."

"No, I mean..." Sylvester cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, that is right, yes, her mother has passed away. But I mean..." he pointed upward again, and the nurse's eyes followed where he was pointing, to the spot where, above the doorway, was painted the words that were also present on a plaque at the entrance, _Megan Dodd Pediatric Ward._

The nurse's eyes widened after a brief moment of confusion. "Ariel Paige Dodd," she said, looking back in the direction of the baby. "Oh my God. Wow. Hey Ilse," she said to another nurse passing by. "That newborn that came in today? Born at home?"

"Yeah." Ilse gestured with her hand toward the bassinet.

"Yeah, well, guess what? She's Megan Dodd's daughter."

As Ilse's eyes widened, the nurse who had settled Ariel back down looked over at them, appearing to catch the conversation. "Dodd," she repeated, looking at the writing on the wall and then to the card on the side of the bassinet. "Ariel Paige _Dodd._ " She leaned over, looking down at the baby.

"I didn't even pick up on the name. There are lots of Dodds." Ilse shook her head. "Damn, I mean, that's cool. Hey Kitty," she called to another nurse, who stood off to the side with a clipboard. "You'll never believe this."

When Sylvester left for the waiting room, his daughter had five nurses bent over her, talking excitedly.

* * *

Upon re – entering the waiting area, Sylvester noticed Walter by himself, sitting in the corner, his legs stretched out, his ankles crossed. Crossing the room, Sylvester dropped down next to him. "Hey Walt. Where are the others?"

"June called. Said Collette called her in tears."

"Oh no."

"No, I guess they were crying because they really felt like they connected with Happy and Toby and they really think that this could be it."

"Aw. That's good."

"Yeah, so Happy and Toby decided to call Collette to tell them that they're excited to see them again tomorrow. They've been on the phone for over twenty minutes."

"Ray and Linda?"

"They went to get me a change of clothes." Walter's pants were dark, but Paige's dried blood was still visible to anyone who got close. Sylvester had changed into a hospital gown over his pants, but it was easier for the hospital to provide an alternative shirt. "Cabe had to go back downtown – Tim is still there – to debrief on the shooting earlier."

"Oh." Sylvester nodded.

"You get to see your daughter?"

"Yes."

"They going to let you bring her down here?"

"Soon. They said maybe in an hour or so. They say she's doing really well though, especially considering the day."

"That's good." Walter turned to smile at him. "I'm sure you'll get to take her home in the morning."

"I hope so." Sylvester was silent for a moment, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "Walter?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay."

"I just hate that I still don't know what to say."

 _So you do want to talk about it._ Sylvester still didn't know what the issue between Walter and Paige was. "I wouldn't say that."

"I want children with her, Sly." Walter was staring straight ahead. "If things were different, if...if things were normal...God, I..." he put his head briefly in his hands and then straightened up. "If the radiation was a non – issue. If we could guarantee a safe delivery, like we'd planned with Ariel...but things happen. And I should have known that. When it comes to Scorpion, things always happen. I..." he let out a shaky breath. "I thought that she was going to die today. For a few minutes there. I was so scared. And it just hit me that I don't want to even ask her to consider going through that again. It wasn't even a conflicted conclusion. There's always a risk with pregnancy but in this day and age...most people don't have to worry about a thing. But Paige..."

He trailed off, sighing. Sylvester waited.

"She told me when I was in there that she wanted to have a child with me. And I misinterpreted it as her agreeing to have one because she knew that's what I had wanted. And I told her that I didn't want that anymore. It was supposed to be reassurance. But..."

"Instead it hurt her."

"We had some heated words." Recounting the events had caused a light sweat to break out on Walter's forehead, and he wiped it with the back of his hand. "Now I'm af...afraid that she doubts that, she might have lost some trust in me. That I won't ever leave."

"Walter," Sylvester said. "She's not going to stop trusting you because you misread what she said and it led to a little fight."

"I thought that I was perfectly fine with the two of us never having a child together. But then when I realized she wants that, I got...I didn't know how to...I started wanting it again, but with it came the guilt of wanting it, because of what she could go through. But should I feel guilty since I know she wants it too and I wouldn't be pressuring her but I don't know how to articulate that and I just wish I was _normal_."

"You know," Sylvester said after a short silence. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

Walter scoffed.

"No, really. Walter, we've always operated as if we're bound to make a million mistakes because of how we are, but when people we classify as _normal_ make mistakes, they're completely justifiable. But the reality is, no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, misinterprets things, says words we later regret. We have to accept that of ourselves. And we can't always blame it on who we are."

Walter was quiet for a period of time, staring at his knees, then turned to look at the younger man. "You know, Sly?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't get enough credit for how wise you are."

"I'm not wise. I've just learned a lot about life...and people...the past few years."

* * *

"Knock knock."

Paige was sitting up in bed, biting on one of her thumb nails. She looked over. "Hey Sly."

"Hey." He crossed the room and sank down in the chair. She still looked tired, but he supposed that was to be expected. It was hard to believe that Ariel was only eight hours old. "How's it going?"

"Better. I'm bored. I left the latest Dan Brown at home. And these magazines about Christmas shopping are just stressing me out because I'm so behind."

"Well, you don't have to worry about getting me anything else. You've already given me the greatest gift I could possibly receive."

"She's beautiful, Sly," Paige said with a smile. "She's the perfect combination of you and Megan."

"I agree," Sylvester said, "but I actually don't want to talk about Ariel for a minute." He grabbed her hand, gently wrapping his fingers around it. "Paige, I know I've thanked you a hundred times. But now that she's here..." he shook his head, feeling the tears begin to well up again. "Although I've known for years that it was possible, it always felt like more of a...a pipe dream. A fantasy. And now she's here. She's tangible. She's...real. Megan isn't here anymore, but we have a daughter." His voice was growing high, strained with emotion. "Paige, there is nothing I can do, ever, that would make me believe I have adequately thanked you. The magnitude of what you've done for us is overwhelming. I don't know what either Megan or I did to deserve what you've done, but..." he squeezed her hand. "Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

Paige's eyes were glassy, and she wiped them with the back of her hand. "Sly, I'm already so hormonal and now you're making me cry."

She was smiling, and Sylvester smiled too. "I'm sorry."

"I'd do anything for you and I hope you know that."

Sylvester nodded, his glasses starting to fog up. "I'd do anything for you too."

They sat in silence for several minutes, smiling at each other, and Sylvester took off his glasses and set them on the bed so he could wipe his eyes.

Paige kept crying, but her face took on a sad, conflicted expression. "Hey," Sylvester said, "what's wrong?"

"I said some things to Walter," she said, her shoulders jerking. She pulled her hand from Sylvester's and put both of them over her face.

Sylvester scooted closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey."

"It wasn't even a big fight but I can't stop thinking about it." She dropped her hands and looked at Sylvester. "Sly, I love him so much, and I basically told him that I thought he'd abandon me like Drew did."

Sylvester was surprised. _Paige compared him to Drew and he still was fixated on how he had been the one to cause hurt._ He was going to pretend that he didn't know anything of their earlier encounter, but the way she was speaking, he had a feeling she knew he had to have been told something. "Walter feels bad."

"He shouldn't."

"He knows his diction wasn't the best. He's just scared of losing you." Sylvester wanted to say more – he wanted to fix them – but it wasn't his place. Walter and Paige needed to talk themselves.

"I want to have a baby with him," Paige said. "I hadn't thought about it until recently, but I do. I _do_ know he'll never abandon us. And I know he worries. I love that he worries. I knew what he meant. And I let him think I didn't. I said things I knew that I didn't mean even as I was saying them."

"You guys will get through it."

"I know we will. It just shouldn't have happened in the first place."

"Hey. You went through a lot today. You're exhausted. He was scared and he still doesn't handle that well. When you get some rest and he has some time to think..."

She was nodding. "I know."

"I just talked to the doctors. They said later tonight they'll bring Ariel down to your room."

"Oh yeah," Paige said, "what was it you were talking about earlier?"

"I have this tape," Sylvester said. "I've never watched it."

"What is it?"

"I'm not...entirely sure. But I have an idea, and I think you and Walter should watch it with Ariel and I."

Paige cocked her head. "You have an idea?"

Sylvester nodded. "It's from Megan. She gave it to me a couple of days before she died. And she told me not to watch it unless I ever used her eggs, and only then, not until after the baby was born."


	82. Chapter 82

Paige slept, but when she woke up, she was still exhausted.

She remembered this from when Ralph was born, but she didn't remember feeling _quite_ so unrefreshed. She supposed she had been nineteen then, but she was only thirty five. That wasn't old. Many women were waiting to have their first babies at her age.

She grunted, shaking her head at herself. She needed to stop comparing everything about the start of Ralph's life with the start of Ariel's. There were too many differences.

Her wrist was sore. She couldn't remember doing anything that would make her wrist sore. She had acne along her jaw line – her first bout of it since stress had brought it on following her eviction more than ten years prior.

And her breasts _hurt_.

There was a soft rapping at her door. "Can we come in?"

Paige tipped her head to the side. Walter and Sylvester stood there, next to each other, Sylvester with Ariel wrapped up in a blanket in his arms. At the sight of the baby, Paige felt the front of her gown dampen and she shifted her weight, pulling the material away from her breasts and frowning. "Yeah, come in."

"Look who is out of the pediatric ward," Sylvester said in sing – song, "at least for right now. They said she can spend a little time down here before night time. And she can go home in the morning."

Paige smiled. "That's great."

"Did you hear anything more from the doctors?" Walter asked her.

"Yeah. Came in about a half an hour ago. They said I could be released tomorrow afternoon." She hesitated. They weren't alone, but she hated having an elephant in the room. "I'm sorry about earlier."

He reached for her hand, drawing it up to his lips. "Me too." In his other hand, he held a video cassette. "This is, uh..."

"It's what Megan left for me. For us," Sylvester said. "A nurse is going to push in an old TV for us in a min...oh," he cut off as the aforementioned nurse appeared, easing a small television on a rolling table into the door. "Thanks, Tom."

"No problem at all," he responded, plugging the cord into the outlet in front of Paige's bed. "You folks all set?"

"Yes," Sylvester said. "Thank you."

He settled onto the side of the bed next to Paige's head. Walter turned the tape over in his hand.

"Hey Walt?" Sylvester said pointedly, causing Walter to jump. "Right," he said, clearing his throat. He inserted the tape, pressed play, and then walked back over to them, standing near the bed.

Megan appeared, the screen slightly grainy. She frowned, fiddled with something they couldn't see, then it cleared up. "Okay," she said, under her breath. "I wish I could do this on a computer, but this is the only thing they had. And Sly, I know you'd have helped, but I really didn't want you to know I'm doing this. I wanted to just do it, and have it be a nice surprise for you, too. Okay, I think I got it." Settling back against her pillows, she took a couple slow, measured breaths, then cleared her throat and began to speak in a louder, clearer voice.

"Hi there baby," she said, a smile on her face. "I'm your mother."

Paige nearly burst into tears, and she couldn't even blame the hormones.

Megan paused, drawing in a deep breath and licking her lips. "I know that our lives never overlapped. I wish I would be able to cuddle you. Give you a kiss on the forehead. See you smile. Hear you laugh." She paused again. "I should have scripted this out. I'm going to ramble and repeat myself but I wanted to say some things to you, while I still can."

She glanced off to the side, toward where Paige knew the door to her room had been. When she looked back at the screen, a small smile was on her face. "I love you. I know that might sound odd, seeing as I've never met you. And at the time I'm making this, you aren't around. But I do."

She stopped again. Paige wondered if she was pausing so often because it was difficult to breathe or because she was emotional. "I'm sure the world you were born into is a lot different from the one I was. So I can't claim to be able to give you good advice. But I still want to tell you this." Another pause. "You have a wonderful father," she continued, a warmth in her eyes. "I'm sure you know this. He wanted you. We both did. He had to take a lot of steps to bring you into this world, and you're one of the best things to ever happen to him. _And_ to me."

Paige glanced at Ariel, who Sylvester had propped up against his stomach and chest so she could see in the direction of the screen. The baby's eyes were wide open and she was staring directly at the screen, unblinking. Her vision wouldn't be good enough to see her mother, and possibly could barely even distinguish the light difference between the screen and the room, but she was listening. Paige wondered if Sylvester noticed. His eyes, too, were fixed on Megan.

"I do wish I could be directly in your life," Megan continued. "But I know he will love you enough for the both of us. And your Uncle Walter loves you too. He is sometimes stubborn about admitting to things like that, but he's got a lot of love in there. I'm sure he will show you how he feels about you in a million different ways."

Paige's eyes flickered to Walter just in time to see his Adam's Apple bob as he blinked hard. He looked down at Ariel, rolling his lower lip under.

"You're going to grow up with people who love you, and who will be there for you and protect you no matter what," Megan said. "And even though I'm not there, I hope you know how much I love you, too. Know that I've thought about you, both before and after this video. And even though I'll never get to do any of those things with you that I want to do, I'm with you. Everywhere. I want you to live your life the way you want to. I want you to take risks. I want you to love. I want you to love family, friends, places, activities. I want you to make the most of your time here. Because life is incredible."

She paused again, taking a couple of deep breaths. "It's important to me that I get to tell you these things. And I know you have photos of me, but I hope you're glad to know what my voice sounds like. Or rather, what it sounds like when I'm emotional, because just thinking about you gets me a little choked up." She gave a little embarrassed laugh. "Your dad has some of my favorite books and movies, and I'm sure he'll show you them. He knows all my favorite songs. He will share as much of me with you as he can. But this was just me. Wanting to share myself with you, too." She reached out, adjusting the camera. "I do have to go, I have an appointment in a few minutes. But I just want to say again how much I love you. I'm proud of you, whatever you decide to make of your life. And I'm excited. Because I know what a wonderful foundation your dad, and uncle, and the rest of the family is laying for you, and one day, you're going to inherit that world. Your whole life is in front of you and I know you'll make the most of it. I hope you'll watch this as you grow up." She paused again, rolling her lower lip under. "I love you, baby. Please don't forget that. Please don't forget me."

She put her hand to her lips, then blew a kiss at the camera as she reached over with her other arm. The picture froze, then went black.

The four of them stared at the screen for nearly a full minute after the video ended, completely silent. Then Ariel made a small noise, her face crumpling up.

"Hey hey," Sylvester said, rocking her gently. "It's okay." He looked down at her, his own face laden with emotion. "It's almost as if she knows who she just saw."

Ariel still wasn't crying, but she wasn't happy. "Diaper?" Paige asked.

"No..." Sylvester said, "I don't think so."

Paige pulled at her gown again, wrinkling her nose and wondering if she'd have to stay away from Ariel entirely until she dried up. "Hungry?"

"She just ate and burped down in the ward." He placed his hand over her stomach gently, and the baby grabbed his finger, closing her tiny fingers around it. She stopped fussing. "Aw, there you go," he said, smiling down at her. "I'm right here."

Ariel tipped her head toward Sylvester and sighed, closing her eyes. "Looks like she believes what her mama said about you," Paige said affectionately.

"Oh no," Sylvester joked, smiling. There was a short silence, and then he cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you two about something else." He looked to the left, to see Walter, then down to his right at Paige. "I'm her only living parent. If something would happen to me, I want to arrange it that she would go to you two. You carried her, and..." he looked back at Walter, "you're Megan's brother. She belongs with the two of you, if I were to not be around."

Walter put a hand on Sylvester's shoulder, looking around him at Paige. "What do you say, Love?"

"Of course," she said, reaching out with a hand to run her finger along the baby's arm. "But we won't ever have to." She smiled. "You're gonna be around to love her enough for both her parents. For a long, long time."


	83. Chapter 83

Ralph was woken up by his cell phone buzzing – alerting him to the fact that he'd fallen asleep in the first place. He didn't think he'd be able to, not in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. He remembered sitting in these with Walter once, when his dad had gotten a bruised tailbone. He wasn't seen quickly because compared to the others in the E.R., his injury was minor. But the chairs they put in waiting rooms weren't kind to bone bruises that had to bear weight while they waited to be seen to.

Apparently, however, exhausted healthy boys could doze off in them.

The text was from Owen. _Is everything still okay?_

 _Yes,_ Ralph texted back. _Sly should get Ariel released to him in the next couple of hours. They just need to check her lungs and stuff again._

The response was almost immediate. _And your mom?_

 _She'll be released tonight._ Ralph sent the text, then sent another one. _Happy and Toby went to see the kid they're hoping to adopt this morning. They should be back any minute. I thought they were fourteen but I guess they're twelve. I don't know where I heard fourteen._

 _Well,_ Owen responded, _maybe we need some young blood in the group._

Ralph chuckled. _You talk like we're old or something. LOL._

_Well, I suppose not too old. You can't drive yet._

_You are never going to let that go, are you?_

_Not until you get your damn license._

Ralph was trying to think of a comeback when he heard Happy's voice. "Hey guys. Still no news on Paige and the baby?"

"Nothing new," Cabe said. "Walter is with Paige's doctors right now. How did your meeting go?"

"We have a date."

"Congratulations," Ray said. "Linda and I are about to head out to Sylvester's place to get a few things together...that's our date. What are you guys doing?"

"Not that kind of date," Toby said, turning to look at his wife. Happy beamed right back at him. "An adoption date," they said together.

" _What_?" Linda jumped up, her hands over her mouth, and Ralph's eyes widened, looking to Cabe for his reaction. The older man was wiping a tear from his eye.

"We just got back from our second meeting with Collette, and we've talked to their case worker, and they love us. Everyone there loves us." Happy's smile was so big, she could hardly get the words out. "They said we could take her home on..." she paused.

"It's a tad ironic," Toby said. "You want to do the honors, Hap?"

"December second," Happy finished.

"Wow," Ray said. "So you would have adopted them the same day Ariel was born."

"Yep," Toby said. "How ironic would that have been?"

"Well," Cabe said, "you did _meet_ them on the day Ariel was actually born."

"Hey, that's true," Ray said. "So I suppose I should repeat what I said earlier with the enthusiasm appropriate for the news... _congratulations_!" He jumped forward and threw his arms around both Happy and Toby.

"Thank you," Toby said. "Thank you so much."

When they all broke apart, he slid his arm around Happy. "I know we already had this conversation down town but..." he put his other hand up to her face. "We're going to be parents, lovebug. In just eight days. I love you so much."

He leaned in to kiss her, and she pulled back. "Doc," she protested, "everyone is here."

"And everyone knows you're just protesting for show."

She hesitated another moment, then rolled her eyes. "Alright." Leaning in, she put her mouth to his, and both his hands moved to her waist, tugging her close.

"Woo woo!" Sylvester hooted, jumping up and punching his fist in the air. "What?" he said. "This is a good moment."

"Yeah, alright," Ray said, shrugging and beginning to clap. "Woo woo!"

Ralph giggled as he, Linda, and Cabe joined in with the applause. Then he reached for his phone. _Owen,_ he texted, _we're officially getting a new friend._

* * *

"Are you ready?" Sylvester asked, leaning over the car seat. Ariel kicked. "Is that a yes or a no?" Sylvester smiled. "I don't speak day old baby yet. Though I suppose by the time I learn, you won't be a day old baby anymore. Bear with me on this learning curve, okay?"

"Ahhhhh."

"I see." He reached in and undid the safety belts, lifting her out of the car seat and settling her in the carrier. "My apartment is on the second floor. I don't like the idea of being on the ground floor because intruders can get to you earlier. But higher floors, now that complicated evacuations." He headed toward the door, looking down at his daughter. "It's safe. It's really safe. I just started living here a couple of weeks ago. Picked the best neighborhood. I was already living in a good place, but it was small. One bedroom. This, it's not...it's not a townhome or anything, but you have your own room. There's even a little half bath in there for when you get older. Of course, for right now you're going to be sleeping in my room."

He entered the apartment – noticing that the light was already on. Ray, Linda, and Cabe had had the foresight to give him immediate light in case he had to come home in the dark. It was still light. He switched the light off, setting Ariel on the couch and heading for his bedroom.

His friends hadn't disappointed. The initial plan was to come help him set up that weekend – in his room, the nursery was already completed – but when Ariel had made an early entrance, Ray and Linda had gone over earlier in the day to get it ready. And ready it was. Ariel's crib was right next to his bed, fastened to the side, with the drop down option for if she cried during the night and needed to be cuddled. Usually, a feature like this was used for ease of breastfeeding at night, but Happy had insisted on making a version of it to keep Ariel close to her father. On the other side of his bed, his bookcase of comic books and action figures had been shifted over to make room for a fridge and electric bottle warmer – Toby's idea. "Keep her as stable as possible during the night. She'll appreciate it."

The diaper station was set up in the adjacent corner – Paige's idea.

Everything was perfect.

Sylvester walked back into the living room and lifted Ariel out of the carrier, holding her against his chest and cradling her head. "You're home, little girl."

He carried her down the hall and into his room, turning toward the crib and stopping cold.

Mounted above the crib was a photograph of him and Megan. He recognized it as being shortly after Walter's car accident – and the last time she had been allowed to leave the hospital. She'd let go of her crutches for the photograph, leaning back against his chest with his arms around her, and her hands up resting on them. The sun had been especially bright that day. Sylvester had a smaller version of the photograph on his bedside table. He'd never seen it blown up like this, but one of his friends – probably Walter, knowing his hidden sentimental tendencies – had it positioned right where Ariel could see it. Sylvester suspected a hook for it was already mounted in her room for when she moved in there.

"You guys," he whispered, feeling his eyes well up for at least the tenth time in the past forty eight hours. "Ariel," he whispered in his daughter's ear. "I know you won't remember this. But this homecoming is going to be a story that I'm going to tell you so much that you'll think it's a memory."

Her diaper was dry; she'd fed and been changed right before leaving the hospital. "Do you want to lay down?" He asked. "Not like you do much else at this point, huh?" He joked. "You can barely even see. You don't cry much, though. I'm sure that'll start. But your grandma tells me that your mom and your Uncle Walter didn't fuss a lot as babies either. Maybe it's genetic. I'm not sure what I did, though. But you go ahead and take after your mom with this. I won't mind. Though if you do cry..." he trailed off, lowering her into the crib. "If you do cry, I still won't mind. Aunt Paige told me once, me and your Uncle Walter, that it's not shameful to cry, that it's not a sign of weakness. When babies are born, everyone is overjoyed to hear the crying, because it means the baby is alive. You didn't cry when you were born, but you squeaked and fussed a bit. It was the greatest sound I've ever heard."

Ariel cooed and kicked again, her legs still bunched up from being accustomed to the womb. "You're a happy baby already, aren't you?" Sylvester said quietly. "You remind me so much of her." He pointed up at the framed photograph on the wall. "You can't see it. But that's your mother and I. You're already so much like her."

He reached down, touching her face. "But don't feel pressured. You can grow up nothing like her, or nothing like me. I'll love you to the stars and back, no matter what."


	84. Chapter 84

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the final chapter. I can't even begin to express my emotions right now. This fic has been my baby for the better part of the year, from beginning to outline it around Christmas to publishing it from January to October (HAPPY FIRST DAY OF HALLOWEEN BY THE WAY). This fic's publication lasted almost as long as an actual pregnancy - which wasn't something I planned, but it's kind of fun that it worked out that way.
> 
> When I had my original outline, I never imagined that this fic would end up longer than three of the Harry Potter books, The Hobbit, Sense and Sensability, and Pride and Prejudice to name a few. Beating those word counts wasn't something I ever challenged myself to do, because I don't believe in putting words down just for the sake of a word count, but it's kinda crazy to think about now, just like I almost can't believe that I started this fic long enough ago that when I initially outlined it, Chernobyl Intentions hadn't happened, and Linda didn't even exist. It's been quite the journey for me, and I hope for you all too.
> 
> It's going to feel so strange not having this fic to write and edit and share. I'm blown away by all the response I've had to it (and I gotta thank all the people on Tumblr who threw the idea of Megan freezing her eggs out there, because no way would I have thought to write this without those posts), and I'm so very, very glad that you all enjoyed reading it. I certainly enjoyed creating it. I hope you enjoy the final chapter.

"Here we are, Love," Walter said, even though she knew. "We're home."

It felt like months since she'd been to the condo. Enough had happened in the past week that it might as well have been that long.

Walter exited the car and ran around to the passenger side, opening the door for her. "Come on," he said, offering her his hand to help her out of the vehicle. She was perfectly capable of getting out herself, but she was still tired and she certainly wasn't about to refuse his offer of help.

"I have food ready to make," Walter said. "I haven't made it yet in case you wanted to go right to bed, but it'd only take about fifteen minutes if you were hungry."

"Oh," Paige said, "no, I just want to sleep."

He smiled, not letting go of her hand even though she was out of the car. "Okay."

"Thanks," she said, squeezing his hand as they walked to the elevator. "I feel so weird taking this instead of the stairs."

She rested against his shoulder as the elevator doors closed. She'd had a lot of rest in the hospital, but it was mostly fitful. She didn't like the hospital beds, the sterile room and air, and the impersonal accommodation. She'd been used to sleeping in less than comfortable places – both when she was a struggling waitress and when she was on a job with Team Scorpion – but never after a precipitous labor. That was an experience that necessitated her own bed, in her own place, with Walter beside her and her son in the other room for her to completely recover.

Of course, Ralph wasn't home tonight. Haaziq's parents had invited all of them over, as a partial distraction for all of them and as a way to ensure that Paige could have some quiet. Before he'd left with Owen and Olivia earlier that day, Ralph had hugged her tightly. "If you need anything," he'd made her promise, "you call me. I don't want to be away from you long."

"I promise, baby," she'd said, kissing him on the cheek and marveling again at how tall he was getting.

Walter's arm slid around her, his thumb gently rubbing her hip, bringing her back to the present. The elevator dinged and the doors opened on their floor, but Paige didn't want to move. "Eh," she protested, leaving her head on his shoulder.

"I'd scoop you up," Walter mumbled, "but I don't want to risk your stitches."

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled back, begrudgingly lifting her head and walking with him out of the elevator and to their door. "Oh, it's good to be back," she said as they stepped inside.

"And you don't have to leave it until you want to," Walter said, taking her jacket and hanging it up before walking back over and kissing her on the cheek. "And I have that entire week off. To do whatever you want to do. Go for walks, if you like, or you can lay on the couch and watch movies while I bring you food." He smiled, putting his hands on her waist. "I have the honor to be your obedient servant."

She tipped her head back slightly. "Walter, did you just quote _Hamilton_?"

"Actually," Walter said. "I quoted the actual, real Aaron Burr. They just used his exact line in..."

"Okay but you realize the context is challenging someone to a duel, right?"

"Well, I think the line itself, in _this_ context, sounded sweet."

She smiled, sliding her arms around his neck and then placing one hand on his cheek as she leaned back, his arms around her waist holding her in place. "It did."

"Good." He kissed her. "You ready for bed?"

"I've been ready for bed for about two days now," she giggled. "And I'm sure you haven't slept well either."

"Nope." He smiled. "I'll be joining you right away."

"If you're hungry you can..."

He shook his head dismissively as they walked into the bedroom. "Nah."

She wondered if he really wasn't hungry or if he just wanted to be near her. It felt like forever since they'd been able to lay next to each other, even though it had happened more recently than she'd been in the condo.

Maybe he, like her, had been wanting to be alone together so they could talk. She knew – and she knew he knew – that their brief apology before watching Megan's video hadn't been enough. The elephant in the room had been referenced, but not handled. It still loomed.

Her phone buzzed. "Aw!" She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. Walter, who was pulling back the covers, turned to her. "Come look at this," she said. "It's a picture from Sly."

Ariel lay in the crib, just as her doctors – and Toby – had instructed. She was asleep, a contented smile on her face, her dark hair poofed out around her. Walter smiled. "She looks so peaceful."

"Yeah, she does." She grinned. "Happy was telling me today about how everyone set up Sylvester's room. And she said that they told Collette about Ariel and they're really excited to meet her. And all of us. We had a good talk."

"She was really, really worried about you."

Paige nodded. "I know. I'm glad she wasn't there when...I mean, just because of..." she cleared her throat, balancing against the dresser to take off her socks. "It was scary enough as is. She'd been thinking so much about what happened to her mother that I'm glad she didn't know what was happening until it was over."

Walter nodded. "Agreed."

Paige considered bending down to grab her socks and putting them in the hamper. She decided they could wait until morning.

"Oh god, clean comfortable sheets," she said, sighing contentedly as she eased into the bed, laying back. She pulled the covers up around her. "Oh, this is nice." She smiled at Walter as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off. "I can sleep on my stomach again," she commented.

"And yet you're on your back."

She grinned, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure I'll roll over. I've been looking forward to being able to do that. Ugh," she said as Walter crawled in bed next to her. "Are you _sure_ you want to sleep here? Because I smell awful."

"No you don't."

"Walter," she said amused, "you don't have to pretend. Body odor is a million times worse right after you give birth."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, stop it." She ran her finger along her jawline. "Well, you definitely can't pretend you don't see the mountain range that's popped up here on my face. Or the fact that every time I see Ariel my milk lets down."

"Toby said that should stop within a couple weeks."

"I know. But right now it's uncomfortable. My body thinks I should be feeding her. And I don't know if nursing her when she was born will make it take longer to get back to normal." Paige bit her lip. Nursing Ariel, at the time, was the right thing to do. But all these memories that nursing had brought rushing to the forefront of her mind... "Speaking of...I mean...we never _really_...talked. About yesterday."

"We can talk in the morning," Walter said. "I know how tired you are."

"Yeah, but..." she rolled on her side. "I don't think I can lay next to you all night with this hanging over our heads. I'll just keep thinking about it and not be able to sleep."

Walter nodded, shifting onto his side so he faced her, their faces inches apart. "I uh...me too, probably," he admitted.

"Can I go first?"

"I...okay."

Paige bit her lip. "I hate blaming hormones for things. You know how people are with women, they dismiss us as being hormonal, and I don't like saying that I was short with you because of hormones, but childbirth _does_ make you hormonal I'd just had a precipitous labor and I wouldn't have said...otherwise...I wouldn't have said you'd leave if we had a baby together. Because I know you won't. God, Walter," she said, shaking her head. "If there's one thing in the world that I know for sure it's that you won't leave."

"You don't need to be the one apologizing," Walter said, sliding his hand into one of hers. "I...I phrased...badly...what I was trying to say to you. And I'm conflicted and confused and I don't even know what exact words to use now but I'm going to do my best because I don't blame you for getting upset."

"Walter..."

"Please let me finish."

"Sorry."

"I uh...when Ariel was born," he said, "I was terrified that I was going to lose you. I had this...this speech in my head. And if you started hemorrhaging, I had things I was going to tell you. I was going to...tell you how much I love you, that you and Ralph are the greatest part of me, and that I'd make sure to protect him. And..." he paused to save tone, "I had brought up the idea of us having a child together a few months ago and that was something that I realized I wanted. But after Ariel was born, I thought to myself, you know, I can't make her go through _that_ again. I can't." He scooted closer to her. "And I didn't – and don't – want you to feel like you'll be disappointing me if you said no. And when you told me you were thinking about when it was our baby, I didn't realize that you were saying you wanted it. I was trying to assure you that I wasn't going to ask you to do this again. But once I realized you were saying you wanted it...it almost made me more conflicted. Because whether we both want it or not, there's still a safety concern. But at the time," he said again, "I didn't know you were saying you wanted it." He looked down at the mattress. "And then I hated myself for us having come so far and me still being unable to read you."

"I do want to, though," she said quietly. "I swear I do. When she was born, Walter, I..." she squinted slightly, as if to focus on his face better. "I was just hit with how much I love you. And I do want to have a baby with you. I know I'm always going to have these problems but..." she trailed off, shrugging.

"But how do you know _this_ isn't the hormones?" Walter asked. "When you start feeling like your old self again, you might feel differently."

"I might," she said. "But...I dunno," she smiled at him. "Seriously though, Walter, don't feel bad because you misread me. You...you read me wonderfully. In so many ways. Misinterpreting something once in a while doesn't make you a failure. It makes you...dare I say it... _normal_."

He smiled. "I'm not normal."

She squeezed his hand. "I don't care."

"It's also still fairly early on in your diagnosis," he blurted, after a moment of silence. "We don't know what the progression or...or lack thereof...there might be. So...the idea of us...having a child, it..."

"But – and answer me honestly here – you do still _want_ to have a baby with me? Right?"

He bit his lip, then nodded slowly. "I do."

"So..." she smiled, "let's chew on it. It'll be a couple months before we could even start trying anyway, but let's just..." she shrugged, "get me recovered." She tapped her ring. "Let's set a wedding date. Get married. I'll have a few more doctor's appointments to see how my new diet has helped. Then...six months or so down the road, once we're married and Sylvester and Happy and Toby have adjusted to being parents and you've signed the papers for Ralph...we'll see where we are, see how we feel. And if at that point we both still want a baby...we'll go for it. Deal?"

Walter smiled, leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead. "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to Quintis, here's to Waige. Melvester forever. Bring on season three!


End file.
